Just when you think
by lasilia
Summary: Belladonna Malania Potter-Black knew that she wasn't normal even for wizarding standards. But getting stranded in a different world after an accident took the cake. Hey, at least she didn't have to deal with Britain... she was going to make the best out of her situation no matter what. May have some romance down the way. Minor three-way crossover with Fate/Stay Night.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello there! Call me Sil ans I'm a new writer so be gentle with me okay! I own nothing. Not the Harry Potter series neither FF VII. Just the plot. Have a good read!**

Chapter 1

Ok, Bella knew her job could be a hazard but this was ridiculous.

She was exploring an abandoned potion lab in an old castle – one of those that the line they housed had died out so long ago there were no descendants – when one of the old shelves gave out and the potions stacked on it dropped to the floor. The merging had caused an explosion – like most potions' mishaps do – and she was caught in it. Next thing she knows she wakes up in a forest and some unholy amalgamation she couldn't even begin to identify was about to eat her. An earsplitting screech, copious amounts of swearing and several _reductos_ later the thing was dead, dissolving into green tendrils and leaving behind…wait a minute, was this money? It looked like bunch of bills. The hell? Where had she ended up?

At least she had her work trunk with her and war induced paranoia had her filling it up for every possible situation under the sun. That included suddenly being stranded in the middle of nowhere, and Hermione wasn't always gonna be there with her miraculous clutch.

And because a lone trunk in the middle of the forest was weird even for her, she set up a perimeter of wards and then set up her tent. More like a mansion really. It was one of those the purebloods own, it even had a library.

After that she took out her scrying equipment and tried to find out her location.

She came up with nothing. That was problematic.

Taking a look outside she realized it was late so she decided to sleep on it and try to find out where she was tomorrow. After checking the perimeter and making sure it would last, she went to sleep.

The next day she gathered her things and hit the road . She wasn't a stranger to long treks so she had no problem. She had a problem with being jumped by the wildlife every three minutes though. On a positive note she had gathered quite a few coins and a couple of trinkets after killing them.

At about noon she had reached a village and had rented a room for the night. After that she seated herself on the bar of the tavern and probed the other patrons with legillimensy. And so far she had concluded that she wasn't anywhere near anything she knew. Not even a thought of America for crying out loud! That had her thinking that the potion accident was a coincidence.

This seemed like a certain vampire's cup of tea. She had dealt with the bastard for two years at least. Not that she regretted it. Clock Tower was one of the best things to happen to her.

Actual magical training!

Back to the matter at hand. There were many mentions of something called SOLDIER and apparently magic was common knowledge, materia they called it. Also this planet was called Gaia. The more she thought of it the more alcohol she drank. Screw the hangover, she needed this. The way things were going she would need to make headway with the kaleidoscope.

No matter. She would think of something to do in the morning. She needed sleep.

Next morning she woke up with a hangover. No surprise there.

More specifically, she woke up with the unholy spawn of the mother of all migraines with the father of all hangovers.

So in other words she was in pain. A lot of it.

So she was excused to not have noticed the straight piece of white wood sitting on the nightstand along with a strangely shaped stone.

After she had managed to find a hangover potion in her trunk and stopped acting like a zombie, she finally noticed the items and swore. Viciously!

The. Heck.

How had the two remaining deathly hallows doing on her nightstand? She took them anyway and resolved herself to looking into it later. She wanted to take a look at the materia shop.

And wasn't that a doozy? Magic was common knowledge and readily available to everyone for a fee. In the form of oversized _marbles_! No wonder it is not a secret. Everyone could use it so no one was afraid of it. No witch hunts!

The epitomy of sore losers. Bet that if it was a priest to possess magic it would have been hailed a miracle from heaven. Yeah she was bitter about that. Why couldn't she have been born here? She wouldn't have had to deal with the Dursleys.

" Morning lass! Wow, you still alive?" it was the barkeeper. Well, she did drink quite a lot last night.

"Don't you worry Sir ! I can handle liquor just fine" she said perkily. The people were so friendly here…

"I can quite see that! You drank so much yesterday and still are up so early. Not even wincing!" he gave her a big smile.

She giggled.

"So, you gonna be leaving today?"

"Probably. I want to get to a city sooner rather than later. And on those grounds, could you point me to the materia shop?"

"Of course, lass! Its just down the main road, next to the equipment shop. You gonna be Ok traveling on your own? The monsters can get quite vicious." He sounded concerned.

" If they're anything like the ones I encountered on my way here, then there's not going to be any problem. I'm a quite proficient magic user, you see." She said a bit cockily. She was proud of her magic.

"Oh, I see! Then best of luck, lass!" his smile was back as he waved her of.

The materia shop was a simple one. Shelves lined with orbs categorized by colour. A lot of green and blue ones and some yellow. She learned that the green ones housed spells, the yellow ones were support and the blue ones command - whatever those two meant.

What to buy… she had to check the equipment shop too.

" Would you mind if I checked the equipment shop first and came back later?" she would need to make sure she was covered on that front first. She wasn't exactly lacking in magic right now.

" Not at all dear. Come back whenever you want." The clerk said kindly. She was an elderly woman, probably in her seventies, with gray hair in a bun and a simple faded purple dress with long sleeves.

"Good morning. I was wondering where I could sell these." Right to business while showing the trinkets she had gotten from the monsters to the equipment shop clerk. He was a tall man, buff, with a bit of stubble.

" Well the bracer is at 500 gil and the rings come at about… I would say 3000. The quality is good. Where did you come by 3 silver rings anyway?"

"The monsters I killed on my way here dropped them."

" You must be a good fighter then. They are rare drops, only found in the strong monsters. Not sure why. They're just pretty things with no real use" well she had kept one just because of that.

"So that's 3500 gil. I'm about to head out, would you have anything to recommend?" Best be sure she was ready.

" Well, you would need a map of course, then a tent and basic tools" _' check'_ " a few potions" _' not check'_ " a weapon preferably but I'm sure you got that covered" _' damn straight I do'_ " and provisions" _' check'._

" I would like a map then, and what kind of potions?" she couldn't help but ask. She had an entire room in her trunk – because the extended spaces of the different compartments were huge , not to mention the main storage space was a small apartment she filled with all the paraphernalia gathered from her job – filled with all kinds of potions. She was paranoid. Enough said.

" Healing potions of course. And a few ethers. Those are the most basic." He looked a bit surprised by her lack of knowledge.

" I see. What do ethers do?"

" They replenish your magic of course." This guy had a thing with "of course", or she just didn't know shit. Probably the latter.

" Is there a book with recipes for those potions?" If the teacher wasn't Snape she was quite a good brewer.

"You can find one at the bookshop."

" Thank you. One map please, and is there a library in the village?

She walked out with instructions to the bookshop and 3400 gil. Apparently the village was too small for a library.

The recipe book was quite cheap, at 100 gil, since apparently no one was interested in brewing and the botanical guide was 200. She had still 3100 gill from the loot she sold and 4000 from the monsters. She didn't need clothes or provisions because paranoia so she could go back to look at the materia.

She was torn. Should she go for the **fire** or the **blizzard**? And the wind one looked good too. Her _incedio_ was decent and she could always use the special heads for her Japanese issue wand but if she needed something stronger she would have to go for _fiendfire_ and the fire runes would have to be written manually with either her hand or wand and that could take precious time.

If she wanted ice she would have to create water and freeze it mid launch which would also take up precious time.

As far as wind goes she could use _deprimo_ or overpower a _flipendo._ Or really a _wingardium leviosa ._ Wind could wait. On that end so could **Quake**. If she wanted to throw her opponents of their feet she could do plenty of things.

On second thought, she could overpower a _heating charm_ if she wanted to go with fire. Didn't certain gasses explode if overheated. Or it could just produce a large gust of hot wind. She would have to test it out.

 **Blizzard** it was then. So 1000 gil.

It was still noon. "May I ask you a question Ma'am? Where does materia originate from?" it was a valid question.

"Materia is created by the Lifestream. It is found in Mako pools which is basically liquefied lifestream. They are most commonly found in Mako reactors." That did not make any sense. She would need to find a library. It sounded like common knowledge and she didn't want to seem suspicious.

" Thanks a lot Ma'am. Have a nice day!"

"You' re welcome dear."

She headed toward the nearest reactor indicated in the map, in a village called Nibleheim. It would take her a week to get there on foot.

She spent the week picking as many fights as possible with the wildlife in order to get used to materia and integrate its use in her fighting style.

The fact that she was a witch didn't mean that she relied solely on her magic. The capture and her stay in Malfoy Manor was rather telling. She never wanted to feel so helpless again.

After the final battle things went…well…sideways. The Prophet started another smear campaign. Only this one was worse than fifth year. This time she wasn't an attention seeking liar. This time she was the new Dark Lady.

Apparently they realized that they had shoved so much on her plate that it was impossible to deal with all of it herself, and thus living up to their expectations labeled her abnormal even by magical standards. What a load of crap!

And it gets worse! The only way for her to "come clean" was to "forge ties" with a known _light_ family. "hint-hint".

Of course she could count on Ronald Freaking Weasly to throw her under the train! Again! It happened in fourth year, it happened when they were on the run by _Voldemort_ himself, of course it would happen again. Especially since he was going to profit from it this time.

She will never forget when she received an owl from Mrs. Weasly telling her they should set up a date for her marriage with _dearest_ Ron. She knew she had to leave. Asap. She knew what this was all about. The Ministry was too afraid of her now to leave her unattended, so they were trying to manipulate her in a position she would be more controllable in.

As if!

Which is why she gathered everything she owned and went to Gringotts intent to clear everything out and ready to weather whatever consequences.

In the end the Goblins were impressed by her show of bravery and honesty and showed some lenience. They took the cost of the repairs and loss from her account and she gave an _unbreakable vow_ not do it again. And leave and never return to any branch. With everything she had in her vaults. Yup, rather lenient indeed.

So she took everything from her vault, stuffed them in a series of expanded trunks and left the country.

Or, she tried to leave the country. She caught the attention of a trolling vampire pain in the ass and that's how she ended up for the two next years hidden in Clock Tower. Apprenticed to said vampire pain in the ass.

It wasn't easy. She had to deal with snide comments about how being _the savior_ landed her in special places all the time. And there were too many harassment attempts to count. So she retaliated. Marauder style.

The attempts stopped, the comments lessened and Zelretch was proud.

She sped through her studies. She picked runes like she originally wanted in third year ( damn you Weasly ), she aced potions because there was no overgrown devilbat hovering over her this time, took an interest in alchemy and reinforcement, and of course put her all in physical education.

Two years after she was in Japan, a proud runes and potionsmistress ( go figure, Snape must be rolling in his grave ), with a letter of recommendation from Zelretch looking for job. She was going to live in her own terms from now on.

This is how she ended up with her job. Oh, her job…what to say about her job.

She had let it slip that she had found, explored the chamber of secrets in Hogwarts and killed the basilisk inhabiting it and she ended up doing that again. For a living.

No, that was her job. She was sent to places that possibly contained magical artifacts like shipwrecks and abandoned castles and cleaned them up before the non magicals found them. She usually searched old residences that used to belong to magical families that had died out and thus had no one to renew the ward, that were subsequently failing. That way the statute of secrecy was kept and everyone was happy.

She was a glorified cleaner. 'Special Retainer of Secrecy' they called her. Well if she happened to keep some trinkets, no one was saying anything. As long as she filled the appropriate paperwork her employers never said anything. She had the common sense to take proper measures after all.

The job had its good points too though. Like traveling all over the world, all expenses paid. Peculiar, yes. But the only other people capable of doing it were curse breakers and the majority was kind of occupied in Egypt. Also, recommendation from Zelretch. Those were rather rare.

Ah… taking trips down memory lane always made her feel warm and fuzzy on the inside.

She eyed her work wand. Its shape was particular. The handle was wooden and carved, with the polish creating waves on the surface. The rest of it was made of specially crafted metal alloys that channeled magic much easier and it wasn't as susceptible to breaking. It was longer than normal wands, well, the British ones, almost as long as her forearm. It didn't end in a tip. Instead the head had one bar going vertically to the body with two small, metal, slightly curved decorations under it attached to it. From the bar, two metal pieces curved, initially inwards and then outwards and ended in sharp tips. The protrusions were connected by another curved metal piece, in the point of connection of the two curves in the initial pieces of metal. In the center of that piece was a small spike.

There were different heads that could be attached there, depending on what she wanted to achieve. Those wand were issued to members of the Japanese Magical Police Force and the different heads came from your own pocket. And man, were they far more useful that the British ones.

She whacked a monster that had gotten too close to her with it. Yep, far more durable. Japan was outclassing Britain so badly it wasn't even funny. Goes to show that accepting technology was a very good choice.

She suddenly had an urge to hit her head on something very, very solid. Why hadn't she used her phone? The thing was running on magic and it could, theoretically contact other dimensions. That was how the Japanese University of Magic functioned. It was a separate dimension with time running differently since the Japanese Ministry recognized that some students had to deal with mundane studied as well. One hour outside University walls was five hours inside University walls. Honestly the system was ingenious.

She took her frustration out on the newest attacking monster. She would try to contact her coworkers or her employers when she set up camp.

In the end she didn't need to set up camp. In between memories and picking fights she had set up a much quicker that anticipated pace and had reached Nibleheim two and a half days earlier than estimated.

It was turning dark and she was about to go to the tavern to rent a room when she stopped dead in her trucks. Her blood burned with rage for in front if her a bunch of teenagers had cornered a younger boy and were beating him. And the adults were just watching doing nothing!

Her own miserable childhood run in front of her eyes and she saw red. If there was one thing Mellania Belladonna Potter could not stand, it was bullying.

She fire a medium powered _aguamendi_ , her anger making the originally planned splashing effect a blasting one, since her emotions created a jet of highly pressurized water. It didn't blast them to far just threw them of their feet and got their attention.( Hmmmm that's another idea for fighting monsters….)

The boys turned angrily at her probably thinking it was another kid fooling around. What greeted them was the visage of a pissed-of witch. She must have been pretty intimidating, what with the hair not caught in her bun floating around the wind created by her magic, along with her long skirt and coat, the crystals at the end of the sticks securing the bun glinting ominously along with her eyes -which were glaring daggers at them- and the tip of her wand spewing red sparks while it was clutched tightly in her hand, the metal itself reflecting the light the swirling green and white magic was creating.

Thinking about it, that must have been why none of the present adult were reacting as well.

"What do you think you are doing?" her tone showed her anger. "Give me one good reason why you are treating the poor boy like that?"

One of the boys took a step forward, trying to look important. Probably the leader. Also the stupidest judging by what he said next.

"Why do you care? He deserves it either way. Strife is such a freak!"

Oh no he didn't ! That was their justification?

"Hell yeah that's why!" She must have said that one out loud.

"Yeah!" "Right" the others have started to chorus. They were digging their grave and the didn't know it.

Her magic exploded outwards from her. The boys got quiet again, terrified. A quick flick of her wrist and a small _expulso_ went of in front of their feet, making them stumble back.

Her voice was frigid and brimming with power and anger. " How dare you? You should be ashamed of yourselves, all of you." She was referring to the gathering crowd " Treating a child like that. How despicable!" her voice got louder making many flinch away. "Scram!" her magic exploded again and no one needed further prompting.

She took a deep breath to compose herself. ' Good job Bella. Nice impression you made.' Meh, she was here for the reactor anyway.

A tugging at her coat broke her from her musings. Looking down she saw the same boy that was being bullied. He had brilliant blue eyes and his hair was blonde in all over the place spikes reminding her of her own rat nest of hair when cut short.

 _God he was adorable!_

Her expression faded to a gentle smile. "Are you alright sweetheart?" she made sure to kneel to his eye level and made her voice as kind as possible.

He nodded bashfully. " Mhh-hmm. Thank you for helping me. But why did you?" he asked curiously.

Her heart clenched in her chest. He reminded her so much of herself.

"Because I wanted to and because I could. Is there any other reason required? She directed a kind and gentle look at him. "What's your name kid?"

" I'm not a kid! My names Cloud!" he said indignantly. Good he wasn't scared anymore. "What's your name Nice Lady?"

She couldn't help but giggle. _He was adorable_.

"You can call me Bella, Cloud. Now, let me walk you home. I wouldn't want the brats I just chased to corner you again." She said decisively, standing up from her crouch.

She offered her hand for him to take, which he timidly took with some hesitation. _He_ _was_ _so_ _adorable!_

" So what bring you to Nibleheim Miss Bella?" his eyes filled with curiosity. "Not many people come here."

"Well, I am here for research." Deciding to indulge him a bit more " Mostly I am here for the reactor

 **Soooooo. That it folks! I hoped you liked it and thanks for taking your time to read my story. I would appreciate it if you reviewed since I would like to know your opinion, no flames though please.**

 **See you next time and nice day**

 **~ Sil.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi again!. I hope the wait was not too long. I own nothing but the plot, unfortunately…. Enjoy!**

Chapter 2

She couldn't sleep. Perfect. And the bed was so damn comfortable!

And she was bored. Peachy.

The room she was graciously granted by the Strifes' was small and bare of personal touch but somehow still homey and warm. In the darkness she could make out a desk opposite of the bed with only a lamp for decoration. It didn't work, she had tried. There was a window in the room she was given but it didn't allow too much light in and the night wasn't clear either, a bunch of clouds- haha clouds!- obscuring the moon and the stars.

The night reflected her mood perfectly. Miserable. God-damn insomnia! At least it wasn't nightmares this time so that was a plus…

Speaking of nightmares, how had she found herself in this situation again? In the dark , in an unfamiliar place and in an unfamiliar room, with unfamiliar people all around her? This was making her war (and pranking) honed instincts twitch… *Sigh* 'Calm yourself Bella. It's highly doubtful that Cloud-dearest is conspiring with his mother against you with foul intent.'

The moment Cloud's mother heard that she had protected her son she had welcomed Bella in her home like she was family, casually informed her that the Strife family were the village outcasts and since she was associated with them no one in the village was going to be even friendly with her, let alone service her, _but don't worry sweetheart you can stay with us!_

Da'fuq.

Honestly, these people were way to friendly. Things were bound to get interesting though. Cloud was going to show her around tomorrow and with her previous performance the reactions were going to vary. "Hmmmm… wonder how many villagers I can scare of…" a wicked grin made its way on her face.

She turned her phone on, might as well do something productive. And against all odds, she actually had a signal. Yay! A Hell lot suspicious too. Started looking like Zelretch's handiwork even more. 'Let's see… Japan regional time… oh just one in the morning!' Serves her wonderfully. Sei-chan shouldn't be too much asleep.

Mind made up she dialed the number. Sure enough, a couple rings later a groggy voice greeted her.

"Whazhit?" coherent enough.

" Charming as always Sei-chan!"

"Bella! Is that you? Where are you? You've been missing for at least two weeks!" Ohhhh he was awake now.

"There was an accident in the castle I was called to clean up. A shelf with potion collapsed to the floor and after the explosion I found myself in a different world." Merlin, that sounded stupid…

"…Only you Potter, only you. And you were finally able to call?" he sounded relieved if not just a bit exasperated. What a nice guy he was!

Actually I just forgot that I had a phone in the first place" that sounded more flat than what she intended.

"What do you mean you forgot? Any normal human being would try their phone first! What's wrong with you? And moreover you call me at _this_ freaking hour! I know your phone displays regional time! You just wanted to be a troll didn't you?! No wonder the trice damned vampire likes you!" he was losing his composure. Actually, how come he wasn't shouting yet? That was a new record with how easily provoked this guy was. Maybe he wasn't all that awake yet? Oh he was still talking. "…- y I tolerate you!" scratch that, he wasn't saying anything new.

"You adore me and you know it Sei dear. Anyway I was calling to let you know I was going to be indisposed for an indefinite amount of time. Forward this to my "superiors" if you could and mention it to Zelretch sometime, see if you could do anything from your end or if it's his doing. He _is_ known for pulling jokes like that." Knowing her luck though, she'll probably be here for some time.

"Ok, ok, got it. Take care and try to call. Bye."…and he hung up on her. How rude! Then again it _was_ one in the morning. Well, at least she knew that she could count on him.

Sei – officially Gakusei Fujiwara - was her official "contact" with the Magical Japanese Police Force and one of the few curse breakers not sweating their asses off in the tombs in Egypt. ' _Seriously_ , the nasties the were finding there.' Poor guy was a ginger and if he did he would be spending the majority of his pay in sunscreen solution an burn salve. -'Actually, how could Bill Weasly make it and thrive in that climate. Poor guy must be suffering.'- He was her manager of sorts, since most request were forwarded to him first and he informed her after. They had a workable deal and she could trust the guy to have her back when she needed it. For her, that was saying something.

Oh and he was half kitsune. Wouldn't that be a riot in Britain. Their savior working closely with a "dangerous half-breed" and a supposed demon at that. That never failed to get a laugh out of her. The weird looks she had gotten for that inside joke…

*Sigh* At this rate she wasn't going to get any sleep at all. Meh, she had a full night's sleep yesterday. What to do, what to do? She had some junk in her trunk from her last job that needed to be categorized... she could continue reading her potion book ( so far she had drawn parallels with the potion ingredients from her own world and the only thing left to do was see if she could switch them up)… she could go for a fly…mhh maybe she would see a dragon…

She could clean up the trunk whenever, and even if the book held useful information for the long run she really wanted to see a dragon… Ok, dragon it was!

Summoning her beloved broom from the vast expanses of her trunk and pulling on her coat she quietly exited her room and headed outside. The brisk night air hit her in the face in a pleasant kind of way. Almost pure if not for the almost unnoticeable pungent underlying smell permeating the air. Almost as if it was trying to hide. But she knew what purity was and this was not it.

Strangely enough the smell had gotten more pungent the closer she got to Nibleheim. Things to ponder.

She took off, gaining altitude steadily and enjoying the night's chill. The higher she climbed, the air got more pure. So it was Nibleheim, or perhaps…

She turned to the reactor in the mountain. In the little bit of light shining through the clouds, Mt. Nibel cut a pretty intimidating picture. She could barely make out the reactor. She frowned. She would take care of it in dew time, for now though, she had some dragons to search for.

She came back to the house in the crack of dawn, no dragons unfortunately but she wasn't giving up! She got back to the guest room without making a sound, changing into her day clothes, and placing her broom in the trunk's side pocket. It would be more easily accessible that way.

'What to do now…? 'No one's awake yet so let's prepare breakfast for my gracious hosts.' It wouldn't do for her little guide not to have enough energy for today.

Cloud was woken up by a heavenly smell coming from the kitchen. Eyes thick with sleep, he stumbled like a zombie towards the smell and was greeted by the sight of their guest bustling around the small kitchen, wrestling with pans and pots and treys, depositing all kinds of foods on the small table.

Her hair was in a lopsided bun with little tufts flying everywhere. They almost looked like feathers, Cloud wondered if it was as soft as it looked. The two sticks were in their place in the bun, their crystals now dull. She didn't wear her coat and the sleeves of her black shirt were rolled up to her elbows, exposing pale delicate arms.

And her arms were tattooed.

He hadn't expected that.

On her right arm there were waves of a raging sea and he could make out a couple of fish, occasionally letting the skin show through in a deception of depth. The assortment of blues, teals and whites reached just a little bit over the wrist. He could make out a discoloration on her inner right arm. A scar. On her left arm was depicted an intricate net of branches with beautiful red flowers. There were also little butterflies flying around- wait _what_?.

He blinked and looked again. The butterflies weren't moving. Maybe a trick of the light… He looked at the other arm again. No, nothing moving. He was probably still half asleep.

Her long black skirt was flowing around her whenever she moved, showing her dark brown boots. The geometrical patterns at the edge of her skirt gave her a tribal feeling.

"Good morning Cloud. Have a seat." She turned around with a smile. Her eyes were hidden behind circular glasses, no indication of the glow from yesterday or the power hidden behind them.

Had he not witnessed yesterday's display he would never have guessed that the smiling woman before him could look more fierce than a Nibel Dragon.

There was a loaf of bread in her hands, straight out of the oven. When had she made it? He sat down tentatively and a plate full of pancakes was thrust in front of him along with a jar of honey an a jar of marmalade. Jars that he knew weren't in the house.

"Don't worry about it. It's a token of my gratitude for letting me in your home." She said sincerely while placing a glass in front of him. "Milk or juice?"

That's how his mother found them. Her face freezing in a look of surprise.

All thoughts left him when he took his first bite. The food was divine!

They left the house an hour later. She had put on her coat from yesterday and was carrying a trunk he didn't notice yesterday (It was shrunk). The coat was white with tribal patterns at the hem of the bottom and the sleeves and square patches of fur bellow the waist. The coat was held closed by brown leather belt. Over the coat she wore a long beaded necklace, and a shorter necklace with a couple of fangs and a pouch (for the resurrection stone) and a feather at the end. She also wore a beaded bracelet with symbols engraved on them ( runes but he didn't know it).

He himself was in a loose pair of dark coloured pants and a white t-shirt, with a beat-up pair of snickers. It wasn't all that cold but maybe it was just him.

Just then, Bella adjusted her glasses and Cloud remembered the way her eyes glowed yesterday.

"Hey, Miss Bella, are you perhaps a member of SOLDIER?" he asked. Only SOLDIER's eyes glowed like that. Maybe she could give him pointers to get in SOLDIER when he grew up.

She looked at him curiously "No, Cloud, I'm not. Why do you ask?"

"The way your eyes glowed yesterday. Only their eyes glow like that!" was that admiration in his voice? _Oh no! Not another Colin Creevy!_

"That happens when I'm really angry."

"Oh, and the glow you had! And the wind that picked up! That was so cool! How did you do that? I've never seen materia used like that! Like Genesis Rapsodos." He had ignored her statement. _God, not another Creevy!_

"That's because my magic get affected by my emotions and I was really angry when I saw those kids bullying you like that" He hummed in understanding and awe. She could feel herself dying on the inside as she saw the hero worship develop. "Why don't you tell me what you know about SOLDIER?" anything to get away from that subject.

It was for vain though. For the next hour Cloud waxed poetic about SHOLDIER and his Hero, Sephiroth and how it was his dream to be a hero too.

 _God_ , _he_ _was_ _another_ _Creevy_!

It hurt though. Remembering her own time as a "hero". And she pitied that poor guy, Sephiroth.

"Why is that?" what?

"Why is what" she looked at him curiously.

"You said you pitied Sephiroth. Why? He is a hero!" he almost looked scandalized. She must have said that out loud.

"That's exactly why, Cloud. There is nothing good about being a hero. It sounds nice, sure, but once you get there, you realize that you are trapped in something you can't escape. People expect you to give and give and give until you have nothing left. And once you have outlived your usefulness, they throw you away and consider themselves justified." The bitterness in her tone was almost palpable. "I'm not saying that you should not follow your dream, but if you want to be a hero, then you better be for people who bloody well deserve it."

Cloud looked downtrodden. He was not expecting that answer. A gentle hand was placed on his head.

"And of course, let's not forget the amount of fangirls the poor guy must have. Seriously, rabid fans are the work of the devil! No privacy at all! And they get so obsessive, it's bloody terrifying!"

He couldn't help it. He burst out laughing. Talk about transition. But still, her words left their impact. He was surprised at the warmth in his chest though.

"Don't laugh! This is serious! They are the work of the devil I tell you!" she looked offended he was laughing.

Slowly he calmed down, wiping a tear from his eye. "You sound like you got experience." He managed out shakily between breaths.

Bella crossed her arms "You bet I do. I had more fanboys though. And the gender was the only difference! I couldn't even go out on the street for groceries without getting mobbed! And I had to be very careful of what I said so I wouldn't give those damn trash rags any fuel for a scandal. It was a nightmare I tell you! And I had to constantly update the security so they wouldn't break into my house!"

The looked at each other and they burst out laughing , almost hysterically. People were giving them weird looks but none did anything. They must have remembered the events of the previous day.

After they both calmed down Cloud looked at her thoughtfully with an undertone of sadness in his eyes. "So Sephiroth isn't happy to be a hero?"

"If what you told me is true then it's very probable. He probably doesn't have any friend either. True friends that is. Probably doesn't know who to trust at all." A pause. "How old was he when he fought in Wutai again?"

Cloud though about it too. "I think he was fourteen when he first fought." Which means that he must've been training for a very long time to be at the level he was back then…

"Then he probably didn't have a childhood either. To completely annihilate the opposition in just a few sort battles, means that he was training from a very young age and didn't have the time for it, or it was probably deemed unnecessary or useless." She looked angry but nothing happened this time.

Thinking it over, Cloud felt bad for his idol. That sounded so horrible and lonely. Maybe, when he entered SOLDIER, _he_ could be Sephiroth's friend…

She patted his head" You are a very caring person, Cloud." _What?_ He hadn't said anything. " Meh. Things got depressing. Let's change the subject." She cut his thought off. "Say, I've been meaning to ask but - " she paused to look in one of her coat pockets "- would you happen to know how much this is worth?" and she presented him with _a big gold coin!_

"I-is that gold?" he was stumped. Gaia, the coin was heavy! And it was an actual coin. Not gil for sure. How had she gotten it? Who even used these?

"Yes, it is gold, at least 90 percent. So, how much is it worth?" she was so calm about this! Like she hadn't just handed him a small fortune! Was this a normal occurrence for her?

He looked at her incredulously, as if failing to understand what she was asking. And she looked back at him curiously! Her face was saying _"This is a simple question. What can't you understand?"._ He shook himself mentally.

"It's quite a lot Miss Bella. But wherever did you find it?"

"Oh, I inherited a couple vaults of theese." Ok, hold the damn phone! A _couple_ of _vaults_? He just stared at her, jaw slack.

"You will catch flies like that." The nonchalant voice broke him out of his shock. She had already moved further down the main rode, not even looking at him. "Are we continuing this tour?"

"W-wait!"

Bella smiled a little to hershelf. All previous talk was forgotten.

Nibleheim was a quiet village. Pretty too. The scenery was fantastic. It almost made up for the horrible people.

Almost.

Ok, can we talk about this for a sec? Because, come on! It was almost like wizarding Britain all over again! And for no friggin reason at that! Seamingly.

A prod here, a mental nudge there and voila! And oh, was she seething. Theese people were so backward and bigoted! Apparently, the Strifes were a «bad influence» because there was no father in the family. They considered Cloud's mother a whore and because Cloud was more mature than the majority he was "unnatural"

Apparently, Cloud's father had died some years back and his mother hadn't remarried. Ok, everything fine so far. What was not fine, according to the villagers, was that they kept on living with moderate comfort even though they no longer had paternal support. So rumors started spreading and eventually snowballed into monstrosities. And in a village so isolated from the rest of the world, nothing seemed wrong with that.

Also she was now a «witch». Duh. She was cackling internally at that tidbit. How grateful was she that she decided to learn legillimensy not that she needed it for this one, they weren't exactly secretive with their whispering. And shooting her those condescending looks. Like she should be ashamed of it.

Ha! As if!

A witch though. Perhaps she should give them a reason to call her that… unbeknownst to her, a smirk was forming on her face, sending shivers down everyone's spines. Even Cloud was shooting her concerned glances.

They were now on the outskirts, facing the mountain.

''The reactor is that way but you will need a guide to take you there.'' Cloud-dear was such a gem. Showing her everything he could with such enthusiasm, acting like a kid his age. This hole did not deserve him.

''Don't you worry about that. I have my ways to get where i want.'' She ruffled his hair playfully. He swatted the hand away, scowling at her. '' So, anything worth noting on the other side of the village?''

Cloud tensed a bit. Interesting. Her iner «Investigator» was perking up. ''There is a mansion just a little bit of away from the entrance of the village. They say it is haunted.''

Her eyes were glowing again. Wait, no, not glowing, more like shining. She was _excited._ ''Really? Then what are we waiting for? Come on!'' and she was dragging him towards the entrance of the village.

'' But there are monsters on the way and by the time we get there it will be nighttime!'' the boy panicked. His mother would kill him if he was late.

Bella laughed. A truly carefree sound. And Cloud was struck by the fact that it sounded so honest… lile she was really happy.

''You don't have to worry about anything. The monster's in these parts are a joke and as far as late goes… I will show you how _I_ travel.'' There was no dissuading her now. This was what she _did_ _,_ after all.

Cloud pinched himself. Again. For the fourth time since they left the village. It was just so surreal! When the first monster appeared Bella eyed it, took out a metal rod-like thing, and proceded to completely curb stomp the monster, and the next, and any that came after. Halfway to the mansion he realized that the rod was actually a _wand_ when she pointed it at a couple of Nibel Wolves and shouted something that made thick green ropes appear from the end, wrap around the wolves and then proceeded to manipulate the ropes still attached to the wand – Gaia, it was really a wand, like those magicians in the TV – and swing the wolves into another unfortunate monster that got within range.

And she was laughing happily the whole time!

Now he understood why she had been excited when he told her about the Shinra Mansion. She was thriving in adventure and adrenaline.

So in a bout of childish fascination so unlike him he found himself exclaiming the first thing that came to mind when the onslaught of monsters was over. They had gotten closer to the mansion during the fighting and she had kept him safe the whole time.

''That was so cool!''

She turned and beamed at him, almost glowing. " Ha! You haven't seen anything yet Cloud-dear! I can do so much more than this!" she boasted. She didn't care that she sounded like Malfoy. She was in her element and was proud of her skill damnit!

" A bloody shame though. It's gotten late and I can make out the mansion just beyond the trees." She put her hand over her eyes as if to shield them from the (non-existent) light.

Startled, Cloud looked at the sky. Gaia-damnit! It was indeed late. Really, really late.

He was in so much trouble.

" Do you think you will still be in trouble if I got you home in the next, let's say, 10 minutes?" she was looking in the side pocket of her trunk for something.

How did she know what he was thinking? "No, dearest, you're just thinking out loud. Don't worry I do it too." She flashed him a smile while she fished a stick like thing from the pocket.

"Well no, but that's impossible. It would take at least an hour, at best." He was panicking. His mother could be scary when angry.

He was so grounded!

A carefree giggle came from her mouth " Let me tell you something dear. When you have magic, nothing is impossible. Let's show your fellow villagers just how much of a witch I am, shall we?"

The stick in her hand started growing until it was about her height and that's when he realized it was a _broom_. Ok, so far there was a wand and a broom. What was next, a pointy hat? And she was straddling the thing! No. Just no. He was not trusting a polished stick! " No way! You didn't equip it with a **float** materia. And even if you did there's no way the thing's gonna fly."

"I don't need materia silly, I'm a witch. Come on, get on, or else we'll be late" she was smiling encouragingly at him. He got on the broom hesitantly seating himself in front of the witch and grasped the polished handle. "Now, hold on tight and don't let go, Ok?" her voice was reassuring and he nodded.

And then they were moving. Upwards. For a second he forgot how to breath. Because the sight was breathtaking indeed. The horizon was bathed in oranges and yellows and pinks while the sun was just about halfway to setting. It was truly beautiful.

" Beautiful, isn't it?" Bella's voice was soft, soothing.

"Yes. Yes, it is" they stayed silent for a moment that seemed to stretch out forever. Their eyes drinking the sight and committing it in memory.

"Bella?"

"Yes Cloud?" an arm wrapped around his chest and gently pulled him back to a warm torso, his chest resting on her collarbone, conveniently enough for her to place her chin in top of his head, which she did. She made him feel safe, this woman.

"Thank you." He said sincerely.

"You're welcome"

The looks on the villagers faces when they saw them flying down to the Strifes' front door was something that would crack Cloud up for the rest of his life. The wide open eyes and jaws when they landed and expressions of consternation they shot Bella as she commandeered the broom was just priceless. They had no idea how on point they were with their "derogatory" remarks.

She was proud of being a witch damnit!

They landed in front of the door and got of the broom, Bella shrinking it and putting it back where she took it from.

" Welcome back! How was your day?" Mrs. Strife asked cheerfully when they entered. " Wash your hands and come to the kitchen. Dinner's ready."

"Thanks mom."

"Thank you Mrs. Strife. "

While they were washing up Cloud asked what was bothering him for a while. "Bella…are you really…a witch? The villagers were looking at you like…it is a bad thing." He hesitated a bit wondering how to phrase the next question. He didn't need to though as she had guessed what he wanted to say. " Well, yes, but not like those cliché, hook nosed hags that eat children. Though I _can_ turn people into frogs, or any animal for that matter, if they annoy me enough. Think of me as a fairy godmother if you will." She gave him a gentle smile and ruffled his hair.

He scowled at her and shook her hand of. Again. " That's childish. And a witch and a fairy are entirely different things. " Bella gave him a deadpan stare. " You know you're a kid, right? And that statement about difference isn't helping either."

"I'm not a kid!"

She giggled.

"Well, I want to explore the mansion tomorrow, you can come along if you want to."

"Sounds good. Can we fly there?" he wasn't ashamed to admit he was excited. "Wait. Do you use materia at all?" She shrugged " Yes. But I can do magic without it. Why?" she asked curiously.

"There is a legend about a race of people that lived on the Planet that were called the Cetra. They were believed to be able to communicate with the Planet and had extraordinary powers. You do fit the description." He replied in a level voice. His face was scrunched up in a thoughtful frown, and frankly, he looked adorable.

Aaand at that moment she failed to control the cuddling urges that had been twitching since yesterday and glomped him for everything he was worth.

"KAWAI!"

Poor Cloud was desperately trying to dislodge her from his person, blushing the entire time.

That night, Bella was thinking over Clouds words about the Cetra. It was vague. It was ambiguous. But you didn't live through half the shit she did without learning to recognize potential in information and God was there potential here. She added it to her mental checklist to look the Cetra up. Perhaps she wasn't the only one to have found themselves in this situation. There was hope for her yet.

Now. It was time to devote her attention to the hallows. She'd been postponing it ever since she found them, but she couldn't do that forever. She had to get this mess cleared up and perhaps she could get an idea on how to get back. Their appearance was way to suspicious to let it go.

She fished the wand out of her trunk, carefully took the cloak from the inside pocket of her coat she had put it and pulled the necklace with the pouch that housed the stone from around her neck. She placed the items on the bed in front of her and sat down cross-legged. Ok. Now what.

"What should I do with you?" she muttered to herself.

"If I could offer a suggestion…" a scratchy voice sounded from behind her.

In the next few seconds she had vaulted over the bed, scrambled to the other end of the room and whipped her wand to the direction of the voice.

And no. She did not yelp. Nor did she trip over her feet in the five steps she needed to make in order to reach the other end of the room. Not at all.

At the other end of the room, just where she had been, was standing what could only be described as a shadow person. Only this one wad far more detailed than the ones she encountered in abandoned, haunted buildings. No, you could make out fingers ( claws ) and clothing ( a coat that reached the floor ) and a hat of all things. She could even make out the buttons on the coat for crying out loud! For all the detail though there was no face. No there was just a black, slightly transparent foggy, wispy _mass._ Oh and did she mention _the_ _glowing_ _red eyes?_

"Ah, I see I have startled you and that I am causing you discontent " The _thing_ spoke again in its scratchy voice. And really? _Discontent_? She was bloody terrified!

"Y-you think? You don't sneak up on people to whisper in their ears and not expect them to startle. Especially when they should be alone!" She chose not to comment on the appearance, the thing could be sensitive and take offence for all she knew.

The thing gave her what she guessed? was a contemplating look and titled its head a bit sideways- and God was that even more terrifying- and spoke. "I find your tendency to refer to me as a thing most displeasing. Please cease to do so for I have a name." Damnit, it _-no they_ did take offence. No-no-no, scratch that. They read her mind!?

"Oookay… and what should I call you?" she was proud that her voice didn't crack. The figure nodded to itself in – probably – satisfaction and lock its- _their's damnit!-_ glowing crimson gaze at her. She felt what little bravery she had managed to scrounge up shrivel and die. It felt as if those orbs were gazing into her very soul like some cruel mockery of judgment. But no! No damnit, she refused to let herself crumble!

'No! I am Belladonna Mellania Potter-Black. I faced a homicidal teacher, a basilisk, a horde of Dementors and outflew a dragon! I faced Voldemort far too many times to be healthy and came out on top! I faced hordes of Death Eaters and looked Death in the metaphorical face and in the end walked away! There is no bloody way I will let myself tremble in the sight of the unholy spawn of Slender Man and a Shadow Person!

"I am death"

Oh bugger.

 **Ok people how was that? I hope you enjoyed. So, to hopefully clear some things out. I plan to split the Nibleheim "arc" in two, but after that Bella will return again. Tell me if you want her to discover Vincent in the next chapter. Also tell me where you want her to go next.**

 **By the way, no matter how "suggestive" the name may be, no, there will not be a love triangle. I absolutely despise those because most of them are badly written and a blatant way to create drama. I can write drama without that.**

 **Next chapter there will be some things explained and you can be sure that " the junk in the trunk" will also be useful in the future.**

 **I wish you a nice day and see you next time.**

 **~Sil.**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Bella's thought processes at the moment went something like this.

'Ooh shit, shit _shit!_ Whatthehellis _he_ doing _here_? My presence is screwing something up, isn't it? That's _it_ , isn't it? Damn my luck! My trice damned Potter luck! Wait...it's not my fault I'm here! Yes, it's not! So all I have to do is explain that it's all a misunderstanding, right? But what if he's here because he thinks I'm trying to get away from him? Like Riddle? I did kind of escape him a couple of times. Maybe he's upset? _Oh_ _God_ , _what_ _is_ _he_ _doing_ _here_?'

It must have shown in her face because he chuckled. _Chuckled!_ Wait, he can read her mind, so, it is either showing on her face and that was amusing, or her thought process was amusing…. Still! Death was chuckling at her expense and the sound was friggin terrifying! Sounded dark and foreboding with something crackling, like broken glass, as background noise.

" You need not worry for I am ot here for any of those reasons. My business with you lies elsewhere."

Ok. That was relieving to hear. It did nothing though to quell the anxiety and underlying fear the voice of the Grim Reaper caused. "And what is your business with me?" might as well get it over with. She braced herself for his reply.

"I am here to discuss the meaning and details of you new title."

She knew instantly what he meant. The Master of Death. Well if he held resentment for that she couldn't really blame the guy… " I am not exactly resentful about it, more about your ignorance about what possessing ghe title entails. But then again this is not your fault either."

This was actually not as bad as she imagined it. And for all the scare factor, Death was actually very polite. "Ok then, please tell me all that I need to know." She said as decisively as she could.

"Splendid. Please have a seat. This is going to take some time and it would be best if you got comfortable." She realized she was still standing in the farthest from the Reaper corner of the room, both hands flat to the wall along with her back, which was firmly attached to the corner. Thank God her knees were neither trembling nor buckling.

After she had sat comfortably against the headboard, she motioned to Death, due to courtesy really, to take a seat opposite of her. Terror does not excuse a lack of manners, as her "dear" aunt taught her. He looked surprised for a moment – seriously, how can a featureless face make expressions? – but settled, somehow, in front of her. It was like the end of the bed was deing swallowed by darkness.

"A good place to start would be the actual meaning of your new title. You see "The Master of Death" is not just another of the many frivolous titles the British populace tends to bestow on the object of their… affections." He didn't sound very happy with the British. She could understand the notion. "In truth, you are the first Master so far. I suppose congratulations are in order." He said dryly.

She raised a hand in question. "Before we get to that I would like to ask something. Are you my world's Death or this one's. Could you please tell me where I am for that matter?" she asked hesitantly.

He nodded and went about answering "Well, death is something unchanging in all worlds. The only thing that changes is the name with which I am referred to. As far as where we are now, this is the world closest to your original one. This world also holds a minor connection to your's. You being here is also connected to your new title and the responsibilities that come with it." He said patiently.

Ok. So she was close to home at least. But apparently there was a reason she was here, so it really wasn't a coincidence. There was one thing though….

"Really? So you are responsible for all the worlds in the multiverse? Isn't that tiring?" and that was genuine sympathy there. To anyone from Clock Tower multiverse meant Zelretch, and the thought alone was enough to make them shudder.

The being looked confused again. " You're not used to sympathy, are you?"

"Admittedly no. People tend to see the job and judge the one doing it in accordance to that." He said a bit mournfully.

"Ok. Another question to clear something up. Is a certain trolling vampire involved, in any way, shape or form?" even though she was dreading the answer.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, he was the one to send you here."

'I knew it!'

"Shall we continue?" The Reaper actually tilted his head a bit to the right. Creepy _._

She gave a affirmative nod. " As the Master of Death you are considered my equal, which would normally mean that you would be a "Grimm Reaper" too. However your presence among the living hinders you becoming my true equal." He paused and she nodded that she understood, so he continued his explanation. So far things sounded reasonable. "That means that you can't take up all your duties at once. Of course there are also certain…bonuses. Do you want to know of your duties or your new advantages first?"

"Business first, pleasure later." No hesitation. She's seen what power does without the proper head to manage it.

"But this is why you are the first one so far. Because you never sought power so you are the best to receive it." He read her mind again. "I believe that teacher of yours said that the human mind is not a book so ypu could read it." There was a tick that was starting to form on her brow. "Don't start the technicalities. Also this is annoying and creepy. Would you kindly stop it?" "Yes, my apologies."

He didn't look the least bit apologetic.

"Back to the topic at hand. What does my job entaiI?" Let's just hope it's not another save-the-world fiasco….

"You are to investigate discrepancies in the matters of the living in order to uphold the balance of souls between the worlds of the dead and the living. You do not have to worry yourself about finding the anomalies from scratch. I will be providing you the basics myself. You only have to resolve the situation." He explained and she despaired. This did sound a lot like a save-the-world fiasco.

Also, the ''basics'' didn't sound like much.

"When I do die, how will my duties be… upgraded?" she sighed. He paused a second, as if contemplating.

"Once you die, you will ascend and share my duties as a true equal." Wai-what?

"EH?!"

"You see, death has many aspects, faces and duties connec-"

"I kind of understand that! The question is _why_ and why _me_?" and no, she was not hysterical.

"You yourself said that the workload is big, do you blame me for wanting help? And none of the Reapers under my command can really take on such duties. As for "why you" you are the first person to gather the hallows and truly understand suffering, in order to be kind. Your "saving people thing" as you so eloquently put it, derives from that understanding. You strive to help others so they don't have to go through what you did."even if the speech was delivered in a matter of fact tone and completely emotionleslly, it still made her cheaks redden slightly.

"Really though? I think you could do better than an insomniac, PTSD suffering, paranoid twenty year old."

"You don't give yourself enough credit Master. And your PTSD is minor." retorted Death doing a dismissing gesture. "Now, concerning your new exploits, you may have noticed some of them. Your sences are sharper and your magical ability has increased considerably-''

''Wait a minute! I have noticed no such thing!''

''That is because of two reasons. You sould vividly remember when you volunteered for those twin wizards you are so fond of. About trying some transformation cookies that were still in the experimental stage. The ones that would turn the user partially into an owl. If I remember correctly, it was something about paying homage to your own departed owl by taking part in the development of the owl themed cookies." Death sounded really amused about continuing "especially since they were snowy owl themed. Some parts of the transformation never went away as you noticed and that has masked the enhancement. The hearing and vision stayed after the 'reversal' and not just the feathery quality your hair has acquired. The only reason you keep wearing glasses is because they hinder oclumency attempts against you, right? As far as magical potential goes the only reason you didn't notice is because you chalked any improvement up to the training you had after you distanced yourself from the British magical community. And the same goes for your physical abilities as well."

'Ah.' "I see. Please continue." She answered embarrassed.

He gave a pause, preparing to continue. "You have also gained access to a few abilities. You can now call me whenever you wish and you can recognize if someone's passing was natural or premature. You can feel the life force of others and their intent, if you concentrate for that matter. You also have jurisdiction over the Reapers stationed in the world you're on and have the ability to make your own Reapers. You can of course ask me to harvest any soul you want and I will try to grant your request if it's within reason. You will be long lived and are now more resilient to injuries. Really, nothing sort of an instantly fatal blow will be able to kill you. Also, your wounds will heal much faster. Do you have any questions before I explain the reason you are here?" he clearly understood that things like that were hard to take in so he was giving her time.

There _was_ a thing that was bugging her." You keep speaking of Reapers. What are they?'' She asked him puzzled.

Death nodded and replied. "Reapers are souls that after their passing choose to serve me and collect the souls of those that die. You should be able to recognize them without much trouble. They have a sertain aura around them. When I say that you can make your own I mean that you can empower souls of your choosing to be your helpers. Where regular Reapers are invisible to the living though, those chosen by you will be able to interact with the living world, so they can be more efficient in helping you. You can employ regular Reapers to various tasks too, as long as they don't interfere with their duties too much. Be careful though because there is an elite squad of bodyguards for this world's…governor you could say, that dress very similarly." So that's what he meant. It reminded of something she had watched at some point back in Clock Tower. An anime a fellow student had gotten her hooked on…what was it called again…

''If you mean Kuroshitsuji, or Black Butler in english, then yes, you are correct. Some of the Reapers have mentioned the similarities."

"Seriously, stop doing that."

Sombering up she continued ''Do those souls I choose have to be human?" she asked with hope evident in her voice. She wanted her beloved owl back.

"No, not necessarily, but they need to be, to a degree, inteligent." Death answered with a knowing tone.

"Wonderful! Walk me through the process." Bella demanded giddily.

"What, right now?"

"Yes, right now."

Five minutes later she was holding a confused and disgruntled Hedwigh to her chest and nuzzling her cheek to the owl's head like an overexcited kitten, while repeatedly proclaiming her love and adoration to the owl that looked ready to nip the daylights out of her if she didn't stop.

She did. Death looked amused.

"What about my parents?"

Death shook his head in pity. He couldn't blame the poor thing for wanting to adhere to what little love she had ever felt. "Unfortunately, their souls have been damaged due to the killing curse and wouldn't be able to withstand the power the process would give them. They would need to recover first which usually takes time."

"I see." She deflated.

"Your godfather on the other hand is already a Reaper. I could assign him to you if you wish." Like he hoped she cheered up immediately. Too much for that matter because she tackled him in a grateful hug.

"Thank you!"

"Shall I go on to explain the reason you are here?" his tone was dry like sandpaper.

"Oh yes, please do." She blushed, embarrassed again. Death had an odd ability to make her feel like a child it seems.

He coughed, as if to clear his throat – how? The darkness in that particular spot was almost see-through. "You may have noticed the stench in the air of this world. And since I caught up to you in this particular village, you may have been able to connect it to the reactor."

So her assessment was indeed true. That means she would have to dig especially deep on that subject. The witch indicated for the being to continue his lecture, while she listened intently, gnawing softly her bottom lip. "You see, those reactors are providing electricity to the people of this world by drawing energy from the planet itself." Oh that didn't sound good.

"Let me guess. They are drawing too much?" because really, why else would she be here then?

He hummed in affirmative. By Merlin, how could a sound like that be so terrifying? That one was like a growling, gurgling noise that you only heard in horror movies. Is there some kind of philosophy behind all this? You know being utterly terrifying? "That is correct. Your duties lie with the fact that the same lifeblood of the planet consists of the departed souls of its people." Oh no. This wasn't good. Not at all. "I have to save the world. Again." Bella deadpaned. "I'm never gonna wash my hands of of this shit, am I?" she lamented miserably.

And Death had the gal to chuckle!

"Well, you did a rather god job the last time."

In other words, not bloody likely.

Perfect.

"So. Any questions?"

Fuck her life.

Linelinelinelineline

In the end, she didn't sleep a wink again. Damn.

Taking of her nightclothes, she couldn't help but think how much of a waste of time it was. Maybe she should start sleeping in her regular clothes?

While pulling on last day's shirt – after a cleaning charm, who did you think she was? – she caught a glimpse of her tattooed arms. Ah, what memories did that bring. Rebellion is so sweet. Maybe she shouldn't have put so much green in her closet though.

'*Sigh.* Should I hide these? They are magical tattoos after all.' Cloud must have seen them, but then again she did tell him she was a witch. 'Meh. Let them be.' She decided before exiting the room, making sure she was quiet. Waking up her hosts at the ungodly hour of 5 pm would be bad…

Hmm, she had more time than yesterday. What to cook this time…? Questions, questions. Something complicated. Maybe she could delude herself that the night and early morning wasn't filled with questions to a horseman of the Apocalypse.

linelinelinelineline

Cloud woke up, again, by a heavenly smell coming from the kitchen. This time he knew though that Bella was cooking. The day was of to a great start.

The sight that greeted him this time was more surreal that the last time though.

Bacause: a) he was pretty sure their table was smaller that that, actually, was that their _real_ table for that matter? He didn't remember the glossy finish, nor the pretty and complex _engravings_.

b) his mother didn't own or use pans like that. What kind of pan doesn't have a flat bottom?

c) did he forget to mention the fact that the food was being arranged at the table _by itself_?

"You _do_ know that you don't need to do any of all that, right?" he said voice inquisitive and full of incredulity.

She looked at him as if the very though was unimaginably impossible. "But of course I have to. It's the least I could for you since you opened your home to me so graciously." And really the village did not deserve these wonderful people. "Anyway, I've made us some lunch and a snack for later. Yesterday we weren't well prepared."

'Seriously?' "I don't think that we will have time to eat at all. The Mansion is packed with monsters." He said in a deadpan tone.

The witch gave him her own deadpan stare. Yikes! He didn't stack up very well against her. "Didn't you learn anything from yesterday? Don't you worry about a thing! Everything's under control." She ended it with a cutesy wink and a title of the head. During the short speech one hand had ended on her waist and the other was brandishing the ladle like a wand. " Now sit down and eat. I recommend starting with the rice."

Oookay…

He sat down dumbly.

At that moment his mother came to the kitchen.

"You know that you don't need to do any of this, right?"

linelinelinelineline

Half an hour and a heavenly breakfast later, they were out on the front yard, waiting for Bella to fasten her trunk – why? – to her side and take out her broom – _a broom!_

"Why do you need that anyway?" indeed, why did she need the trunk? Wouldn't it be at least a liability when fighting?

"You see Cloud, I need it to fight. My fighting style is all about practicality, as thus, I incorporate anything that could be useful. My trunk is very useful, I can tell you. Just wait and see~." She was very cheerful for some reason.

"I see…"

"Come on, we got a big day in front of us." She urged him to mount the broom. Once he was on and holding the handle tight the broom started rising and they headed towards the mansion. The looks on the villagers' faces were even funnier this time. They probably hoped that they imagined the first time.

This time Cloud was assisted by daylight, so he could observe hos surroundings from the air. And it was awesome! Everything looked so much smaller. The monsters in the forest didn't even look threatening.

Wait a minute…

"What about the dragons?" he asked with trepidation in his voice.

"I wasn't able to find one nearby, unfortunately." She sighed mournfully.

'What?!' this woman was crazy!

''Hold on a bit tighter. I'm accelerating.''

linelinelinelineline

They reached the Shinra Mansion without problem and landed in front of the front doors. Bella leveld her wand at him and mumbled something, a protective charm she said. ''I don't know what kind of space I'll have in there. Speaking of…" she cut off at the end absently and fished out an ornament from a pocket of her coat and then attached it to the head of the wand. Oh! It was an attachment!

"What does that do" he asked curiously. The attachment was like a trident, only the two side prongs angled to the inside, precariously holding in place a small clear orb. Its base was a decorated cylinder, which was how it attached to the head of the wand, by locking in place with the two curved metal pieces.

"It's a specialized head that makes my spells much stronger. Well it would be more correct to say that it increases the provided output, as in it multiplies it without draining me as much." She sounded proud. " You see, only high level professionals are distributed licenses in order to acquire them." Oh. That's why.

So she was good at her job, whatever that was, good enough to be allowed special equipment.

Cloud had a feeling that he should have been more surprised.

Bella turned towards the door hyper. "Ready?" there was that shine in her eyes again. Excitement.

He gave a nod. He really shouldn't be. The place was dangerous. But, somehow, he knew it was gonna be fine, and thus turned determined to the door of the mansion.

That determination lasted for all of five seconds because the moment they opened the door, the were accosted by three Dorky Faces. Cloud will forever deny that he hid behind Bella's skirt, fisting his hands in it, terrified beyond belief. Bella on the other hand gave them a _look_ , snorted and then gave him a _look_ too. "Seriously? They look like a bunch of leftover Halloween pumpkins that decided to fail at being scary. I mean, what's with the flower petal dress? Had it been, say, black tatters, it would have been scarier."

Eh?

At that moment, one of the Dorky Faces attacked, spewing purple gas at them. The witch swept her wand in a wide arch quickly, before the gas hit them, generating a strong gust of wind and blowing the attack back at the monsters faces. And they… _sneezed_? It got them!

''What are those things again?'' was it wise turning her back to them? But then again the **Confuse** took hold.

''They are called Dorky Faces. That gas was their attack. It could **Confuse** you. How did you turn it back to them?''

She snorted ''What kind pf name is Dorky Face? And you were scared?'' she turned back tothe monsters '' Anyway, I used a spell called _D_ _eprimo_.It generayes a strong wind with the purpose of causing damage usually. Although…is that normal'' she asked puzzled.

And she was refering to the fact that the monsters had turned on themselves and attacking each other.

''Well you did turn the **Confuse** back to them. It disorients you making you think your allies are enemies.''

''Oh. So that's why.'' She perked up ''Let's get this over with then. _Incedio_!'' and a stream of fire came out of the tip of the wand incinerating the Dorky Faces quickly.

''Before anything else decides to jump us, _here.''_ She promptly handed him a materia. ''It's an **Ice** one. I have it double and its unmastered. You can keep it.'' She smiled.

''What? Really? Are you sure?!'' he was elated!

''Of course silly! I wouldn't give it to you otherwise. And now is the best time to teach you how to use. There is no better teacher that battle!'' 'Wai-what?' ''I'm going to make you the best!''

''U-um…maybe y-''

'' Come along now. Let's find the next monster. We will have this place cleared by lunch!'' she said enthusiastically dragging him by the arm towards the stairs.

'What have I gotten myself into?'

linelinelinelineline

He could feel a disturbance. And power. So much power. It suffocated and comforted him at the same time.

Hmpf. Comfort. He didn't deserve it.

But still it was there. At the edge of his consciousness. Tethering in and out of range. There was a sence of dread following it. A vague familiarity. It invoked long forgotten feelings in him. Fear. Dread. Anxiety. Despair. Comfort.

Comfort. This one was different than the one he had felt before. More warm- no, that was wrong. He couldn't place it.

The feeling you get after finishing a long hike ( _the hike never finished_ ). When you return home to a warm meal after a tiring day of work ( _there was no rest and never someone waiting for him_ ) _._ The feeling of the end aproaching, to make things better ( _they never got better_ ) _. He_ never _got better._

His demons were stirring. Trying to inch away, but they couldn't. They were stuck with him.

They were _afraid_.

That was when he recognized the familiar feeling. It the same feeling he had when that bastard shot him, with darkness encroaching. The darkness was his friend.

Death.

linelinelinelineline

''Now remember, envision what you want to happen and focus on seeing it happen.'' Bella was instructing gently. And she didn't admonidh him of he didn't succeed in casting the **Ice** __spell. She just told him to try again.

He focused and imagined a shard of ice being launched at the Dorky Face – seriously, the place was crawling with the damn things.

" **Freeze**!" well…he didn't get as big a shard as he wanted, not even half of it, but it was something. He sighed.

" Good job! And you even grazed it this time! You're getting better!" she rubbed his head proudly. Cloud blushed and stuttered out a thanks.

Her look turned softer.

And that's when the petrified monster decided to break free. And Bella set it on fire without even looking at it. It was actually pretty comical.

"Let's move on shall we? Oh there's a safe in here!" she exclaimed while opening the door to the right. They were on the second floor and not even a moment had passed without being jumped every other step. Gaia, had the ground and first floor been a nightmare to deal with. I mean damn! Just how many monsters did the place have? On the upside the had picked up a weapon in the most eastern room on the ground floor – it looked like a kitchen? Bella had tsk-ed at the state of the room. It looked like two sickles joined at the hilt. It was really cool looking. Bella had twirled it in one hand and then dropped it in the trunk that was _in_ _no_ _way_ _big_ _enough_ _for_ _the_ _thing_ _to_ _fit_ _inside_. And she just laughed at him! Meany.

"Maybe we should check the rest of the first floor and leave the safe for last?" that sounded like a good idea.

"Sounds good." He agreed. "If we clear out the floor then we won't have to worry about monsters surprising us."

"That sounded straight out of an MMORPG." She giggled.

"A what?"

She froze. "What?"

"What?"

"You don't know what an MMORPG is?" why did he feel like he was committing a crime?

"No…?"

She patted his head and gave him a look so full of pity it was almost overflowing. "Don't you worry dear. We are remedying that crime when we get back." Eh?

"Moving on!" and she was back to cheerfully exploring. Was this woman bipolar!

The room next to the one with the safe was a small greenhouse, the plants thriving in a stark contrast to the rundown state of the mansion.

There, behind one of the benches was a metal contraption that looked like it attached itself _somewhere._

"That's an arm canon. It gets attached to an arm stump and acts like a weapon." Said Cloud.

"You know what this monstrosity is yet not what an MMORPG is?" Bella gave him a deadpan stare. " *Sigh* Whatever." And there it goes, dropped in the unknown expances of the trunk.

Next to the greenhouse was a bedroom with three beds in it. It was a bit more disheveled than the rest of the house. It seem the occupants either had a fight or they left in a hurry. Nothing really noteworthy other than a large portrait on the wall.

Exiting to the hallway, they headed to the eastern part of the floor. There was a smal l corridor vertically to the main halfway that connected two rooms. The first one looked like an office but it was bare of personal touch. The only noteworthy thing were some papers that were left on the desk. Bella decided to check them later. The other room was probably a sitting room and had another door that led to a library. Now that was interesting. If what Death had said was correct, and Shinra was indeed a Company that was essentially controlling this world, then this place could be a goldmine. All that was left to do was check the safe now.

"It seems there's nothing in here after all" came Cloud's dejected voice. She ruffled his hair affectionately and giggled when he swatted the hand away and scowled, again. She couldn't help it! Honest! He was just so adorable.

"Now, now. Don't be like that, we still have that safe to check out~." She said in a sing-song voice.

"You're right!" he said, his enthusiasm returning. He run out of the room heading towards the room that had the safe at the other end of the hallway. Bella looked at his retreating back with a small, soft smile on her face, while following him in a more sedated pace. It was nice seeing him act his age. Poor thing was putting on a strong front but in reality he was so lonely.

Once the reached the room she headed towards the safe ready to open it and stopped short. She had a bad feeling. Concentrating, she could feel the twisted life force prowling behind the metal door.

Disgusting.

She cast the strongest protection charm she knew on both Cloud and herself and backed out of the room. Cloud was looking at her in confusion but also worry.

"Cloud, if what I think is going to happen, does happen, I want you to do exactly as I say." She was serious about this.

"Ok."

Once out of the room she grabbed his hand tightly in hers and leveled her wand at the safe. " _Alohomora_!"

At once, a creature burst out of the opened safe and lunged at them. They immediately run down the stairs to the main hall. They would need space.

"Cloud, I want you to stay away and try to provide support from a safe distance. This is not your regular run of the mill monster. I can feel it" she said seriously, slipping to her "Keeper" persona. It wasn't the first time she encountered such bumps while cleaning out magical spaces.

''What aboutyou?''

''I'll be fine. I've dealt with such thins before.''

Taking a better look at the monsters she couldn't help but cringe. Half red and half purple, the red side had a tentacle for an arm that transitioned to yellow while the purple's side was exaggerated and green at the end. The same with the legs, one tentacle-like and red ,becoming yellow at the end and the other purple and muscular and green at the end.

It looked like those crimes against creation itself that occasionally came out of those game character creators.

The monster tried to hit her with its claw but she managed to avoid it and cast an overpowered _Incedio_ in retaliation. Cloud was a ways back and managed to successfully launch a small ice shard at its face.

"Good job dear! Next time aim a little more to the right and you'll take its eye out."

She cast a _Deprimo_ followed by a _Depulso_ to make it lose its balance then coated the floor under its feet with water with an _Acuamendi_. It slipped on the water and fell backwards. Well, she didn't have that in mind specifically but…

"Cloud, don't hit the water with the ice Ok?"

"Ok!" Cloud had a inkling to what she was planning.

She quickly took out a **Thunder** materia and overpowered the **Bolt** spell she cast. The monster's wet feet completed the circuit and the electricity passed through it wonderfully, inflicting damage, if its howl of pain was anything to go by. So why was the thing standing up like it wasn't affected at all and swinging at her again? So it was resistant to some degree...

At that moment an ice shard was imbedded in the monster's eye on the right side, the purple one, and _damn_ did it _howl._ Wonderful. With the monster distracted she fired a cutting curse at the tentacle. It sliced right through and the tentacle fell to the ground, green goo coming of of the wound.

"Good job Cloud!"

"You too Bella!"

They couldn't celebrate though just yet. The monster started charging a magical attack and Bella could feel the power building up. And just when it was about to unleash it…

It turned to Cloud.

Damnit!

Bella apparated to Cloud, grabbed him and then apparated again to the top of the stairs where she deposited him. With fury burning in her eyes she turned to the creature and from her elevated position she fired the most overpowered _Incedio_ she could muster on its turned back.

But no. She wasn't done yet. Oh _hell_ no. While keeping a steady stream of fire she dug through her trunk and fished out a vial containing a sickly green liquid. She threw the vial at the monster's feet where it broke and she stopped the spell. The monster started morphing but it didn't matter. The liquid when it came in contract with the air turned into gas. Highly poisonous gas. Also highly flammable.

The monster started hacking and convulsing, caught mid morph. Bella scooped up a bewildered Cloud with one arm and took what looked like a grenade from the trunk, threw it at the monster and immediately run to the room that had the safe, huddled in a corner and cast the strongest shield she knew.

Just as she was done, a mighty boom shook the mansion. Bella highly doubted that there were any monsters left on the ground floor. After she had deemed it safe she let go of Cloud and stood up. Cloud himself seemed to be in shock. Oh no, was that too much?

Snaping her fingers in front of his face he seemed to snap out of it. His wide eyes instantly went to her.

"That was so cool!"

"Really?" she wasn't sure how to react to the excited nine year old.

"Yes! You completely decimated it!" he didn't seem to realize in how much danger he could have possibly gotten if the monster had hit him. Meh. She wouldn't burst his bubble.

Looking at him she froze. His eyes where wide and sparkling with excitement. His smile was just as wide and joyful. He made such an adorable image!

"KAWAI!"

*Glomp*

Nope. She wasn't bursting that bubble.

When he was released Cloud instantly distanced himself from her, eyeing her warily. She pouted. It wasn't her fault he was so adorable.

"Hey look at this. The safe did have something good in it after all!" he exclaimed happily holding a red materia on his hand, high above his head. In the other hand he had a key but held more subdued. Couldn't blame him really. For a kid a materia was more exciting. Where could that key be going though? Well what were _Point me_ spells for?

"Here." Cloud was presenting her the materia and the key. She only took the key.

"You keep that one, sweety. You did good for your first actual battle." She ruffled his hair again.

"But you did all the work." Cloud said incredulously. Why was she refusing a summon materia? Was she crazy!?

"But I don't need. And between me and you, I wasn't really going all out." Well that was true. If she was on her own and didn't have to worry about getting Cloud caught in the crossfire, the battle would have been shorter. A lot shorter.

"WHAT?"

"Close that mouth. You're catching flies. "

Exiting the room they stopped at the top oc the stairs and just stared at state of the foyer. Everything was blackened by the blaze and there were cracks and indentations by the force of the blast.

"On second thought, I believe you. Isn't this though a bit excessive?" Cloud's flat monotone made her blush. She needed to control her emotions better. This wasn't mid war England nor had the monster targeted Cloud specifically because he was close to her. She doubted it even had the mental capacity to make that connection.

She sighed. A _scrougify_ and _reparo_ later she had a pristine foyer and gawking Cloud.

"What? I told you I was a witch. Now let's see where this goes… _Point me_ matching lock." She intoned while pointing at the key for good measure.

The wand hovered a bit over her hand and pointed to something probably past the wall of the corridor, maybe in the sitting room or the library.

It led them to the library, and more specifically to a wall that was curving inwards. Hey wasn't this where the tower should be, at least from what she saw from the outside? Ok. Any person with eyes could figure that something was wrong!

The lock was situated on the side of the frame that had the selves and inserting the key caused the frame to slide back wards and the sideways, revealing a hollow tower with a narrow, winding staircase.

"I do not trust these stairs." Cloud deadpanned.

"Neither do I Cloud, neither do I. We're using the broom."

They were halfway down the tower when something dropped from the ceiling hanging from a chain. This monster had the appearance of a robust, dark skinned, blonde man holding onto the chain. Well at least from the waist up, because from the waist down it consisted of a big, sharp pendulum shaped blade.

Seriously. What kind of shapes were these?

It tried to hit them with its bladed half, but Bella dexterously maneuvered the broom away from the attack and cast a cutting curse on the chain suspending it from the ceiling, causing it to plummet to the ground with a surprised screech. And sent a blasting curse its way for good measure. There was a thump when the creature hit the ground followed by a crashing sound where the curse impacted and then…blessed silence.

She paused in the decent, feeling for any more monsters, and actually discovering three of them trying to sneak up on them from behind. Oh no sir, not happening!

"Hold tightly and be ready to cast" she whispered in his ear. At his tiny nod she turned around quickly and cast a freezing spell parallel to Cloud's **Ice** one. The _Glacieus_ reached the monsters first and the ice shards that followed shattered them, a feat in and by itself since these monsters were shaped like scales with faces.

"Well I was right. Battle is the best teacher. We've only been here for a couple of hours and your accuracy has gotten much better." she congratulated him.

"You're a good teacher too Bella."

"I might know some people who would disagree with you. My methods were a bit rough for them." She mussed, recalling the training club in 5th year.

"Not all people can handle battle." He answered while leaning back across her front tiredly. All the casting had depleted his energy.

Seeing this, Bella loosened the strap of the trunk, pulled it over Cloud's head and tightened it again until it rested across his chest, security him to her front. At his confused look she smiled gently and answered "You're tired, I can see it. You can rest while I clean up anything that's left. I can't feel too many monsters left." He nodded tiredly and leaned his head on her collarbone to drift of. He was so adorable!

While Cloud was resting she descended the rest of the way down the tower which opened up to a long and wide cave area with chains hanging from the ceiling, where, in a trope she was getting too used to, she was attacked by a creature that looked like a kappa with elongated limbs holding a trident and a couple of overgrown bats. She then proceeded to stick them all together via sticking charms and take them all out with a blood boiling curse. Well it was more like experimenting to see if the curse would work, which it did, so no complaints there.

At the end, the cave was divided in two separate rooms. On the right the cave went for a little longer before leading to a door, while on the left there was a door immediately.

Concentrating, she was able to feel a presence to her immediate left while the right room was empty, so she chose that one first. It was a laboratory and God did she cringe once she entered. The feeling of helplessness and despair was so strong it almost made her double over. There large tubes around the room glowing a fluorescent green and on the desk there were papers and vials containing various liquids. She knew that this place was one of many of Shinra's hidden skeletons but that didn't make it any easier being in the room. She could imagine the depravity that had taken place.

She couldn't be out of there fast enough. So she headed toward the only room left. Opening the door carefully, while having flashbacks of the monstrosity that had come out of the safe all the way, she peeked cautiously into the room. Only to see coffins lining the walls and one extra on the middle. She was having flashbacks of 'Dracula' now.

Closer inspection revealed that the coffin was locked so with no small amount of trepidation she unlocked it and opened the lid.

She was greeted by the sight of a sleeping man. His spiky and unruly black hair was held out of his face – mostly – by a red headband. His lower face was also covered – again, mostly – by the high collar of his...cape? – Ok, if that didn't scream "Vampire" then she didn't know what did.

Aaand her musings were interrupted when the man turned his head, opened his eyes revealing blood red pupils and _stared_ at her dead in the eyes.

She was proud of herself for not screaming, but her yelp was a close thing.

"Who are you?" the man's deep voice was not threatening, but cautious.

"Bella Potter. My sleeping companion is Cloud. What about you, and what are you doing here for that matter?" her voice steady but curious. He didn't feel like vampire but this was another world and it wouldn't hurt to be cautious.

"I do not know you. This place is the beginning of a nightmare. You have no place in here. Get out."

God save her the doom and gloom.

"Mh, that's funny, that's what introducing yourself is for. As far as nightmares go I've had my fare share and the only nightmarish thing in this dump is the room next to this. And business? Well I'm here for a reason. This place has me already strung up as hell. Save me the gloom and introduce yourself like a civilized member of society." And nobody could blame her for being grumpy. The last time she had to do so much cleaning was in Grimauld Place.

He was taken aback. The girl had almost screamed when he looked at her. This was the one generating the aura of Death? And now she was exuding a level of authority he had last seen and felt from Veld. He didn't answer though.

The girl sighed. She gave the room a cursory glance and waved the wand she was holding. He tensed, waiting for an attack.

That never came.

Instead, the coffins around the room closed, and _flew_ across the room were they got neatly stacked in the corner. Another wave and the tip of her wand lit up brightly. With an upward motion the light flew to the ceiling, lighting up the room and allowing the two to look at each other a minute, she was floating on a _broom_.

A wand and a broom. The only thing missing was the pointy hat.

"I'll need to give those a proper burial" his enhanced hearing caught her disgruntled and sad murmur. She then looked at him with her emerald and _glowing_ eyes. Had SOLDIER started recruiting women while he was sleeping. It would explain whatever kind of business she was here to take care of. Or was she an experiment of Hojo's? Was that bastard here?

"My name is Vincent Valentine. What is your business here? Are they still experimenting on people here?" he stood up better to study the girl in front of him. She had pitch black hair in a bun on the top of her head and she was pale, but not unhealthily so. She was wearing a white garment on top of a black one. He wasn't able to tell with the boy sleep on her chest.

Bella was studying the man as well. His hair was longer than what she had first thought and was far more tame than what it had seemed in the coffin. He was wearing black leather clothes under the red cape and his left hand was in a golden claw. "No, I wasn't experimented on, the place has been abandoned for almost twenty years now. The reason I am here though is mostly curiosity. The rest of it is, well not really confidential but I doubt you would believe me. I wonder, are you the one mentioned in the note I found upstairs? Something about getting in the writer's way."

"Probably. So it's been that long. That's fine. Go and let me get back to sleep." The man sounded so sad and tired.

She sighed "I'm sorry, but I can't leave yet. Chances are that I will be staying for some more days. Why do you want to go back to sleep? You've been in there enough time I think." Her voice was soft, coaxing.

"I must atone for my sins. Now leave me alone."

"I would think that to atone one would have to actually act." She murmured. "Anyway it's about lunchtime. Would you like to at least eat something before going back to sleep?" she was nudging the boy sleeping on her chest who began stirring.

"I go to sleep for five minutes and you end up meeting a vampire" were Cloud's first words after waking up, delivered in his signature deadpan tone. Which was completely lost by the fact that his eyes were still hazy with sleep, his hair even messier due to sleep and the fact that the sentence was interrupted because of a yawn in the middle, causing little droplets to gather in the corners of his eyes.

"KAWAI!"

*Glomp*

"Gaia-damnit, will you stop that!?" the tries to dislodge her were futile though because poor Cloud was still strapped to her front.

Vincent on the other hand had to cover his ears because the screech was _that_ shrill. He wouldn't be going back to sleep, would he?

A black plastic box was thrust into his field of vision containing sweet smelling skewers, pink, white, green and brown.

''Have some, at least one before you hole up in the coffin.'' She offered him the box.

Was this really the one reeking of Death's aura?

Taking one of the skewers and making clear he was taking no more, he watched as she took more boxes out of the trunk she carried with her, or more specifically, the boxes floated out of it by themselves. The two on the broom ate quickly as the girl, Bella, explained to the boy ehat he had missed while he was dozing. All the while conveniently forgeting to loosen the strap and let the poor boy free. Cloud looked dejectedly accepting at this point, letting the overafectionate woman cuddle him.

Biting into the skewer, he found it sweet but not overly so. It was nice.

''Well, we need to be going, I will be seeing you again in the future Mr. Valentine.'' And with a crack the were both gone, the only proof that they had been there the half eaten skewer on his hand.

And he could breathe easier, not being overwelmed by the strange girl's aura anymore.

If she was to come again indeed he wouldn't be sleeping at all.

' _I would_ _think_ _that_ _to_ _atone_ _one_ _would_ _have_ _to_ _actually_ act.' Those words rang in his mind. Was he perhaps going at it the wrong way.

A long sigh escaped Vincent's lips as the clawed hand came up to cover tired eyes.

'Sephiroth…'

linelinelinelineline

A short and nauseating "ride"later, they had appeared with a crack in his house front yard.

"I prefer flying if that's OK with you." Cloud weezed doubling over and holding tightly on the broom. Bella pat him gently on the back. "Everyone does dear. It's an aquired taste really."

She quickly loosened the strap, dismounted and then helped a still weezing Cloud get down.

"Why did we leave so suddenly?" Cloud was pouting. He wanted to fly again.

"Because the man was very sad and wanted to be left alone"

"Does he own the place or something?" he grumbled. Bella in return giggled. "Or something" her oclumency however told no lies and she knew the man needed to think her words over. She wouldn't have dropped them otherwise. "Anyways" her eyes glinted "he have a crime to rectify for~." A shiver went down his spine. "So tell me, what do you know about video games?"

He felt like a dead man.

linelinelinelineline

That night, after an exhausting video game marathon – including Legend of Zelda, Doom and Mortal Kombat amongst others -, Bella was ready to head back to the Mansion.

With a silent crack she was back at the Mansion's second floor and heading toward the first library she had seen. Of course, after an encounter with a mirror monster Cloud had called a Mirage, she decided to head to the entrance and inscribing runes and setting up wards to prevent the monsters from getting inside. After that she swept the entire place up only finding a Dorky Face two more Mirages and another one from the hanging ones, Ghiro-something. _Then_ she headed back to the library.

Which is how Vincent found her, having felt her aura suddenly appear in the Mansion. There, sitting comfortably in a conjured armchair, knees tucked under her and going through books like crazy. Was she looking for something particular?

"Hello Vincent, I hope I didn't wake you up." Her voice broke him out of his musings. Under the dim lighting and so focused on het task, he realized that she was actually very pretty.

"What is really your business here?"

She spared him a glance. "Trying to find as much information on Shinra as possible. It puzzles me though that an electricity company would dabble in genetics. It is quite obvious that the company is nothing but a front but what genetic research I've found so far is so…extreme. I was not expecting a Hitler wannabe."

'What's Hitler?' "Shinra only started as an electronic company. That was only the stepping stone to the President's true desire, which is power. That is the reason Shinra has an entire private army at its disposal." Vincent's tone became bitter. "The company had a science department that was trying to create perfect warriors for that reason. Hojo, the head of the department had his base of operation in this Mansion."

Bella turned her emerald gaze at him. "I presume that you are talking about SOLDIER? And I can also presume that you were one of this…Hojo's test subjects? A failed subject that he proceeded to lock in a coffin and leave for dead? _Despicable._ " There was no hiding the fury and disgust in her eyes. If not from that, the suffocating pressure that made itself known, surely drove the point home. "I have my work cut out for me." She sighed mournfully.

"What are you?" the question came out before he could process it.

She just stared at him in surprise, before the surprise was replaced by mischief. "Why don't you try and guess?"

She then put her book aside and picked up another one.

Linelinelinelineline

The rest of the night had passed in silence and when the sun started to come up, Bella had apparated back to the Strifes' home. She had to cook breakfast.

This time was different from the rest though. For when she was finally over, she felt an overwhelming amount of drowsiness hit her. That was new. She would usually have another fay at her disposal. But she had used a lot of magic, cleaning out that Magic-damned Mansion and then set wards and runes and keep fueling magic to her glasses - that had the extra function of helping the wearer read faster, sort the information and memorize it – for hours on top of that.

On the third day of Bella's stay, Cloud woke up to a heavenly smell coming from the kitchen and was greeted by the sight of the table set with a wonderful breakfast along with a note on the middle of the table. It read:

 _I_ _am very sorry for not being present today._

 _I seem to have exhausted my magic resources and am thus extremely tired at the moment._

 _Do not worry for this is normal for me and I will be sleeping it off until I am better._

 _Have a good morning._

Cloud felt something heavy in the pit of his stomach. She wad protecting him all the time in the Mansion and had tired herself out. But she treated it like a common occurrence. He really hoped she was Ok

On a positive note, her case of extreme tiredness didn't not make her any less badass, only more human.

linelinelinelineline

When Bella woke up it was about as bright as if was when she went to sleep. So either the early in the next morning or evening. It was not the hour at which she woke up that was strange though. No. It was _why?_ Specifically, because something big, black, furry and _heavy_ was resting snugly on top of her chest _and she couldn't breathe._

And then the black lump of fur raised its head and she was looking at two human-like blue eyes.

"Padfoot?"

 **Phewww! Damnit was the chapter like pulling teeth! And it's long too. I tried to do my best though.**

 **The Nibleheim part is over. She leaves at the next chapter, and u have** _ **a lot**_ **of ideas for that.**

 **Also….cliffy! Because I like those.**

 **Should you find mistakes or have questions don't be afraid to point them out to me and I will try to clear them up to the best of my ability.**

 **There is an update status in my profile along with additional information but for any who haven't seen it, I try to update once a month.**

 **Please review because it warms my soul, and have a nice day.**

 **~Sil.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey** **there** **folks! Sorry for the wait but here it is! This was supposed to come out on the 14** **th** **since it's my birthday but my computer wouldn't cooperate with me as usual. Though I managed it. Finally. Thanks everyone, for your reviews! You guys make me so happy. Hope you enjoy the new chapter!**

Chapter 4

"Padfoot?" was all her still half asleep mind could think.

The answering *woof* accompanied by a bob of the head however had her awake within milliseconds and hugging the big, heavy and fluffy grim in much the same way she had Hedwig. This time however, big, fat tears were falling from her eyes and heartbreaking sobs were escaping her mouth. 'I'm sorry's were filling the room.

Thank God she had placed silencing charms on the room, because her wails were _loud._

Her dear and "alive" and _here_ godfather was trying his best to comfort her. Namely, he had shifted and was now cradling her in his arm whispering and stroking her back. He wasn't doing much better than her though, over his own, albeit more silent sobs.

"I missed you." Was the first thing out of her mouth when she could form coherent sentences.

"I know pup. I missed you too." Sirius Black answered while nuzzling the top of her head.

She just hugged him a little tighter. "I'll need to thank Death again when I see him." She said in a small voice.

"Yeah, do that. The big guy deserves some gratitude every now and then. He is a bit depressed." Her godfather said seriously, but there was some humor in his voice.

She laughed a watery giggle. "So. How does it feel being under your pup's employment?"

He gave a bark of laughter in answer. "Bloody awesome! My godchild is the Master of Death. Ha! You make this old man proud."

''Yeah, it's gonna be upgraded in the future. Are you one of my Reapers or are you just asigned to me?''

''One of yours. Consider me a 'Welcome to the job' gift from Death.'' He said jockingly.

''A hug too, then.'' A yawn came at the end of the sentence. And then a mock serious look came to her face. ''Time to go back to bed. Ok, dogfather of mine, here's your first order. Shift and cuddle with me, since you woke me up in the first place.''

Sirius titled his head to the sofe with a pout. Did he just sprout doggy ears? And a tail too? ''Why shift?''

''You're fluffier.'' She said matter-of-factly. And without waiting for a reply she wrapped her hands around his neck and titled back getting comfortable on her pillows.

''Wha- hey!''

''Shush.''

''Bu-''

''Shush!''

With a sigh, he shifted and got comfy in his goddaughter's arms and tried to sleep too.

linelinelinelineline

When she woke up it was bright outside and she felt refreshed. A look next to her revealed that her godfather was still asleep.

A good stretch later and she was ready to start the day. She shook the sleeping Grimm, which whined in protest "Head towards the Mansion along with Hedwig. I'll be seeing you there later." Then she opened her bedroom door and headed towards the kitchen. The Strifes were eating breakfast.

"Good morning." She greeted with a yawn and another stretch.

"Good morning too, dear. You had us a bit worried there. You slept the whole day." Miss Strife had stood up and pulled out a chair for her to sit in. Still quite out of it she sat down, placed an elbow to the table and then her cheek on her hand.

''Just one day? It's usually more. Must be the mountain air. Makes me rest better.'' She mumbled sleepily.

"Usually?" both Cloud and his mother asked concerned.

"Mhh-hmm…my job." As if that answered everything.

A plate of eggs and some salad were presented to her and she started eating.

"It's wonderful Mrs. Strife. What I wouldn't give to have been raised by you." She mumbled dreamily

Cloud's mother just laughed.

As she was eating, Bella became more awake and alert and by the time she had finished she was as good as new. So it was no real surprise when she immediately offered to do "at least" the dishes. Mrs. Strife though was adamant.

"You have already done more than enough. If you are so insistent to thank me at all then write down the recipes from the two past days.

'Go Mom!' Cloud barely managed to keep his thought private.

linelinelinelineline

"I will be staying at the Manor for the rest of my stay." Those news could have been delivered better.

"What!? Why?" Cloud asked her almost dropping the controller.

They were in her room, in front of the TV she had pulled out of her trunk (seriously. What else did she have in there?) with a PS4 controller in hand trying to beat the tar out of each other in Guilty Gear and he was losing so bad it wasn't even funny.

Pausing the game she turned fully to him and looked at him in the eyes. "I told you when we first met that I was a researcher and I have found what I was looking for in the Mansion so I will be staying there."

"But can't you stay here and go there in between meals?" no, he was not whining.

She just ruffled his hair and gave him a soft smile. "That would make me feel like I am exploiting your hospitality."

Cloud looked downcast. "Can I at least visit you there?" He was instantly pulled into a hug. He didn't struggle. "Of course you can. How about I give you something that will take you directly to me and back so you don't have to worry about monsters?" His eyes shone happily "Really?" Bella laughed and flicked his forehead "Yes, really. And I have another idea. How about you come every afternoon? That way you can see me more and maybe I can teach you more things!"

"Yes!"

linelinelinelineline

That afternoon she left the Strifes' home to stay in the Shinra Mansion. She had to finish the small upper library and then move to the one underground. She didn't have much to finish really, and she wouldn't have to copy anything from this floor. Despite the disturbing content, it could very well be chalked up to scientific curiosity, should anyone stumble upon it.

That was finished that night and she went immediately underground.

When she did move to the basement, Vincent was waiting for her by the lab's entrance. He was eyeing the Grimm by her side warily. "You didn't come yesterday." Was that worry she was hearing there?

"I was feeling under the weather. Don't worry, I won't be leaving until I've looked through everything in here." She patted his shoulder as she passed him.

''Why?''

Bella looked at him and smiled mischievously. ''It's my job of course!''

The lab was actually bigger than what she'd first seen. It was a library _and_ a laboratory together. There was a lot to see. Thank God for Magic.

So she got comfortable, Dumbledore style.

She tranfigured the desk into something bigger and more ornate, the chair into a big ornate armchair, she conjured a stand for Hedwigh and brought out her tea kettle from her trunk. Then she proceeded to set the tea kettle, huddle up in the armchair and levitate a book towards her and _then_ started reading.

With Vincent looking at her the entire time.

Vincent was pretty sure if he was anyone else, his jaw would be hanging ajar. What exactly was this girl?

linelinelinelineline

Bella had already had Hitler (or Mengele at the very least) vibes from the upper library, but by Morgana, she was not prepared for this. Hojo needed to die. No questions asked. The more she read the more enraged she became. Thank Merlin for dear Cloud. He was such a gem and proved to be a wonderful distraction. Had it not been for him, she would have gone hunting days ago. Maybe she should have gone a bit easier on him in training though. But at least he could defend himself with a knife though.

Poor Vincent was acting like he was in the middle of a minefield the entire time.

Jenova Project, Project S, Project G, Chaos. And don't get her started on Deepground. This was…Those poor children! And if what she had found so far was true then Genesis Rapsodos and possibly Angeal Hewley were degenerating and dying from the inside out.

She eyed Sirius who was chilling by the chair's legs, even though he was eyeing her warily. ''Tell me, can you pass unseen by normal humans?''

The large dog gave a nod and morphed ''Yes, I have very similar properties to ghosts, well I _am_ one.'' He answered her.

"Good. I want you to keep an eye on Shinra, the President, Hojo and this Hollander guy in particular. Report anything important immediately. Do you have anything to contact me with?"

"Yeah, I can send reports through the pad Death gave you and I also have a phone."

"Give me your number."

With that done, Sirius disappeared from sight like the ghost he was.

"You know, standing there can't be comfortable" she said to Vincent who was watching the whole thing, conjuring a similar armchair "have a seat and some tea.''

When he made no move to take the invitation, she closed her book with a sigh. "You are not a monster you know. And none of this is your fault."

He tensed. "How would you know that?" he asked bitterly.

Her eyes were serious and oh, so jaded. "Because I am not blind and I am not just talking about reading. I can see your soul (life force but that was a detail) and even if it's twisted, it still is the soul of a good man. The only thing you did was fall in love and that is no crime. You have a son, did you know that? Wouldn't Sephiroth want a father in his life?" she knew she was hitting cords here but she didn't care. All she could see in her mind's eye was her and Sirius.

"You know nothing. I am a danger to those around me!" the ever stoic man was losing his composure.

"If you mean Chaos and whatever else Hojo put along with him then there are ways to keep them in check. And you have a means to do so. The Protomateria is there for a reason." Ok, now or never.

"It isn't working very well so unless there are other ways you would suggest..." the spite and bitterness was almost overwhelming. Forget Sirius. This man was more screwed over version of Severus Snape. At least this one didn't lash out on innocent kids.

She looked at him from behind her lashes. Her aura flaring. "You already know that I am not normal, or human for that matter. I know of ways to help you." She tried to channel every bit of honesty she had in her voice. "Where I come from, there are certain arrays and symbols that hold power ,and if used correctly, they can bring all kinds of results. I know how to use them and can help you suppress your demons."

Vincent's eyes were wide. He had hoped for a salvation, dreamed of it on the better days in his coffin. But, did he deserve that? For failing to protect Lucretia and their son. How would he face him? How would he face his son? He could only imagine what kind of horrors Sephiroth must have gone through at the hands of Hojo. Before he realized it, Bella was in front of him, grasping his hands gently and looking up at him with such kindness.

"I am not asking you to forgive yourself. You probably never will and I know that. Neither would I. What I'm asking you is to move on. To try and be there for your son. Try and live your life. Dr. Lucretia implanted you with the Protomateria to save you. Because she wanted you to live. If not for yourself, then try for them."

"Why do you even care.?"

"My friends say I have a saving-people-thing. Besides, you remind me of someone." She gave a radiant smile.

"...Ok, what can you do?" He was just so tired. And what did he have to lose anyway…

linelinelinelineline

This was bad. Shinra was aware of someone occupying the Mansion. Sirius watched with a growing sense of foreboding as a supposed Nibleheim villager was reporting to the President the arrival of a woman with extraordinary abilities that had holed herself up in the Mansion.

As the man went on about his pup's abilities, Sirius watched the looks of greed become more profound on the President's and the scientist's faces. This certain scientist was Hojo. No wonder Bella wanted the man dead. The man looked… _disturbed_.

The President was going to send someone to apprehend her.

He called.

linelinelinelineline

Sirius's call did not surprise her. She was expecting this place to be in some way monitored. Actually, took them long enough. She was here a week and hadn't bothered to hide her presence.

She could use the situation to her advantage though if she moved quickly enough. She wasn't in any hurry to finish, as she had read everything and was now making copies. She could leave whenever she wished.

It was probably better to fix Vincent's problem first though.

Maybe it was time to meet one of Shin-ra's three big stars then.

 _Flashback_

'' _How can I contact the Reapers?'' it was a valid question._

 _Death put his hand in darkness of his coat and took out a slick black tablet. So black that it was almost sucking what little light the room had._

'' _Even Death falls prey to modernization, huh?''_

 _He gave a chuckle. ''Popular demand. You should hear the whining of some Reapers when they realize that there was no Internet.''_

 _She_ _winced "Never underestimate the power of bitching."_

" _Too true."_

 _Both gave a sigh of resignation._

" _This is a list of the Reapers in this world along with their specialties. It has some other functions too but it would be more fun if you found those out yourself. Please don't break it."_

" _Ok. I'll be careful."_

 _End of flashback_

Taking out the inky black devise, she scrolled downwards in the list, trying to find a Reaper that had the skills she had in mind.

'Hacker, hacker, hacker…. Oh there is one.' Quickly selecting the one she wanted she touched the "call" button.

She was expecting it to work similar to a phone, or perhaps a video chat. She did not expect a black hole to appear in front of her and spit out a thoroughly disoriented Reaper.

He had messy dark brown hair and black eyes. He had a black, slightly old fashioned suit with black shoes and white gloves. He looked young, no older than twenty and he was looking around wildly in confusion, trying to discern where exactly he was.

When his eyes landed on her he quickly stood up straight and saluted.

"Greetings, Lady Potter-Black! My name is Andrew Johnson and it's a pleasure to meet you. How can I be of service?"

'Eh?'

"At…ease…?" he instantly dropped his hand to the side with force. That should have caused whiplash… "You are the best ranked hacker in the database and I want you to do something for me." Was the guy bouncing?

"But of course ma'am. What do you need? Forged papers? Passports? ID cards perhaps? Tell me, I can do anything." Yes. He was bouncing. Well, that was...good…she guessed.

"How about hacking Shin-ra's database?" she inquired.

The overexcited Reaper paused for a second and then the most blinding smile bloomed on his face. "Yes! But of course yes! Finally a challenge! Anything specific you want?"

She joined her hands in front of her and placed her chin on them. "I've been informed that there is going to be a mission to capture me. As hilarious as that notion is, I have other things I'd like to be doing instead of showing them up and I have other plans as far as delivering a message goes. I want to meet someone,you see and I want you to locate the order and change it up to accommodate my needs. Could you do that for me" she asked smiling gently and kindly.

Andrew looked even more ecstatic than before. "Of course My Lady, it would be a pleasure! Is there anything else I could assist you with?"

" Yes, two things. One, after you've finished, could you dig up anything that you can about Project S, Project G, Chaos and Deepground? If you have the time. And two, could we please drop the formalities? I never liked them much." She said sheepisly.

''Yes ma'am! What changes do you need?''

Bella smirked.

linelinelinelineline

Genesis Rapsodos was pissed.

He was in the middle ass of nowhere doing grunt work. In the middle of winter. And he had not been informed of how fucking miserable the weather was.

Genesis Rapsodos was really, _really,_ pissed.

At least the army grunts accompanying him were just as miserable.

They were quite the sight when they reached Nibleheim and Genesis wasn't really surprised. They were the most interesting thing this backward little town has seen in probably forever.

And that's where things were got even more miserable because the townspeople didn't seem to be able to see that he didn't tolerate their sucking up at him. At all. The innkeeper was at least nice enough to crank up the heat in the rooms.

"Commander Rapsodos. What are your orders for tomorrow, sir?" one of the infantrymen asked.

Genesis tried reining in his temper. The poor squad with him was just as miserable and snapping at them wouldn't solve a thing. "Since our job is to investigate some perceived phenomena located in the abandoned mansion, we'll split up to cover more ground, in case the phenomena has spread out. I will take the mansion and you will take the surrounding area. I will join you when I'm done. That way we can finish at the earliest possible time and be out of this place, hopefully in a couple of days." He said tiredly. "Rest well men, we're starting early tomorrow morning."

He was too tired to even quote his favorite poem. What a travesty!

linelinelinelineline

As promised, they woke up early, split in groups of four and were ready to tackle their "mission"- Genesis was very reluctant to call it that - the next morning. And by early, we mean 12:00 because the Commander wanted his beauty sleep.

When Genesis reached the mansion though he immediately knew that something was wrong. Why? Because it was quiet. If what the locals and the few information the field techies had given him were to be believed, then this place was supposed to be filled to the brim with monsters. Don't misunderstand, he wasn't complaining, but on his way to the Mansion he had been jumped so many freaking times it wasn't even funny! And he could see broken windows. Something _should_ have gotten in.

So far the ground and first floor were empty but on his way to the second floor he understood why the place was empty.

There were people here. He could clearly hear conversations and groans of dismay coming from the right side of the Mansion.

Instantly, stories of homelessness people and drug addicts occupying abandoned buildings from when he was a child and his mothered was actually bothered to care for him – which wasn't often – enough to tell him to watch out and stay clear from such places, came to mind. So he readied his sword.

Still this made even less sense. If the problem was a bunch of bums, then shouldn't they have sent a basic team of Infantrymen and be done with it? Or Turks, if it came to it? Why such a large squad and a Commander. He had twenty people with him. This was overkill!

He did not expect what he found. There was a woman and a child, in front of what looked like one of those surveillance screens he usually saw back at Shin-ra headquarters with some kind of controller focused on the screen were two characters were trying to beat the tar out of each other. That moment the perception changed and one of the characters, a woman with white hair in pigtails and a jack-o-latern mask, started bousing in the air while the other one, a man in red, appeared tied up in a comedic manner. The woman was bounced very high up in the sky and then with great force decended on the man in a dramatic kick. The perception changed again to a shot of the planet were a huge red beam errapted, before the ''anouncer'' poclaimed ''DESTROYED! Jack-O, Winns!''

What the Hell did he just see.

''How is it that you always win?'' the liitle boy whined , looking at the woman at his side with a pout. He had a pale complexion and brilliant blue eyes.

''I'm just that good! And I had a lot of time to get that good, whereas you had…what, couple of weeks at best?'' the woman didn't turn to look at her younger companion, instead choosing to link her fingers and stretch her joined hands upwards behind her back. "It's time to stop though, we have a visitor." She said lightly. She wad an unfamiliar accent.

Genesis tensed. "His timing is a bit bad thought…" So clearly the woman expected someone to come here, probably planed for it but didn't want to involve the boy…

This was bad. Really, really bad. Did Shin-ra know about this? That's why they sent him here? Then why claim it was just clean-up? He did not like where that thought was going.

"Geez. Don't get so apprehensive. I'm not going to hurt you." She said with some irritation.

By that time the boy had turned to face him and his eyes widened a bit. "You're Genesis Rapsodos! What are you doing here?" he exclaimed. The woman turned questioningly at the boy "Which one is that?" Wait what? Was this woman a hermit or something? Judging by the tribal items she was wearing, she might be. "The one that likes poetry."Seriously? Of all the things associated with him? "Oh! Discount Hamlet."

What?

?

"Anyway, my name is Bella Potter. Nice to meet you." She said cheerfully, now fully turned to his direction.

In one word, she was beautiful. Her inky black hair was pulled up in a sloppy bun and looked a bit like soft feathers. Her _glowing_ green eyes were looking at him mischievously, like she was ready to do something that would screw someone over and she knew it. Her skin was porcelain white and her cheek bones high, giving her a regal look. She was wearing a black long sleeved blouse and a black puffy skirt and her hands were now resting on her lap, one absent-mindedly petting it- it looked like it was fur? at least someone was prepared for the unholy weather- she must really like that skirt.

"I have information for you." Her voice broke him out of his musings. Looking around he couldn't see the little boy. "Cloud has gone to get the teakettle, this is going to take some time." Oh. This sounded foreboding. He tensed again. She sighed.

"Look. I swear that I have no bad intentions in this, if it helps. It's just that, after stumbling on this, well, I couldn't just let it be." She sounded frustrated with herself

She suddenly took a long metal stick with a weird head from somewhere behind her and waved it in the direction of the corner of the room, he could see a bunch of files there.

And the pile moved.

By itself. With no materia equiped.

And hovered before coming closer.

At that moment, he didn't care that his eyes were wide. Or that his mouth was hanging open. Excuse him, but you didn't see such displays often.

He groped blindly for something to sit on and found a couch conveniently placed behind him – never mind the fact that it was definitely _not_ there before – and she deposits the files in front of him.

"What did you do him Bella?" the incredulous voice of the blonde boy breaks him out of his catatonic state. He had come back with a tray with the kettle some mugs and some snacks. The boy is short, looks like seven years old, and wears _short_ pants and a _T-shirt._ With that frigid cold weather. While he, an enhanced, elite SHOLDIER is freezing his butt of. Maybe because he is a local?

"Don't worry Mister Rapsodos, it takes some time to get used to her." The boy looks at him in understanding.

He chuckled "Call me Genesis kid. Mister Rapsodos is my father." He ruffled the boys unruly spikes. Well look at that, it is natural.

The boy scowled but it looked more like a pout. "I am not a kid! My name is Cloud Strife." He said while crossing his arms. Genesis chuckled again. This kid was precious. "It is strange though. Most people would be all over me, fawning and starry eyed. Is someone else your favorite?" he teased.

Cloud looked bashful for a second "Before I met Bella I would have. But she explained that being famous or a hero is not all that's thought to be. And that the fans at least are bad enough."

Ok that was new. Someone was finally being considerate. He eyed the woman, Bella considering.

"Cloud could you get some tea and snacks to Vincent too? I fear the fellow doesn't eat very well." Bella motioned toward the bookcase _that_ _had a door on it?_ And _steps_ behind it? What was this place really. He really didn't like were this was going.

Once Cloud was out of range, she turned to him. "Please take a look at those. I fear they are of utmost importance." She wave a hand and two of the cups flew to come before them, his landing lightly on the coffee table in front of him and hers continuing to hover. Another wave and the kettle flew to pour them tea. She reached and dislodged her cup from the air and took a sip, her features immediately relaxing. At least it wasn't poisoned.

So, in silence, he started reading.

He wished he hadn't. For the next hour his emotions swirled from consternation to sorrow and rage. He dearly wished non of this was true, that all of this was an elaborate prank but he knew it was all true. The files contained information that no one knew other than him and his parents, who apparently were with Shin-ra this whole entire time. Suddenly, every little off detail he could remember of his childhood made perfect sense.

Finally, he took a shaky breath, put the last file down and looked at the woman responsible for his enlightenment to the truth. "Why?" He wasn't the least bit ashamed of the wobbly and shaky quality of his voice.

Bella put the cup she had been drinking from down and looked at him calmly. "Why did I show you this? Because I wouldn't be able to live with myself knowing that I could have helped someone but didn't. I know that I would want to know the truth and you have the right to know." Her voice was soft and understanding.

He gave a shaky laugh "I don't know _if_ you can help with this, but I guess that I should thank you nonetheless." He ran a hand through his hair and raised his own cup to his mouth tasting his tea for the first time that day. He frowned, of course it had gotten cold. Bella just waved the stick and the tea was hot again. A deadpan look answered by a mischievous one later and he was taking his first sip.

And he could not recognize the flavor.

"What tea is this?"

"Earl Grey."

"Never heard of it."

"I didn't expect you to."

Well wasn't that something. The tea was rather calming though. And the more he drank the more he realized the implications of the files he had read. Gaia, Angeal and him, from the start, had been watched and monitored, their path already set for them by deranged scientists. And he was degenerating, his best friend too probably. Oh Goddess he didn't want to die…

"There are files about two other of your fellow SHOLDIERs. One if them, as you already read, is Angeal Hewley and the other one is Sephiroth." Genesis chocked on his tea. Sephiroth too?

"I have placed their files in separate flash drives while you were reading. I would be very grateful if you were to give them to them." She "floated" two black flash drives to his hand each labeled appropriately.

"I doubt you could be any more grateful than us. I believe I am speaking for both of my good friends when I say that we thank you for showing us the truth." He said softly, clutching the two drives in his hand.

"Look" she started reluctantly "I might be able to help with the…degeneration thing too. But… I don't know how believable it is going to be for you." At his shocked look she raised a hand to stop him from speaking. "Back home there are many different forms of magic. And with that kind of variety and a bit of imagination we can achieve some…extraordinary things. Actually, that's the reason there are no monsters in here. I am sure that I can come up that will stop the degeneration of the cells." She mumbled the last part to herself, too low for a normal person to hear, but well, he wasn't exactly normal. Still, the magic she described sounded very interesting and he would have loved to ask more questions, but also _too_ convenient.

"All that sounds good and all, but really what exactly are you getting out of this?" because really, this whole deal was getting _too_ good.

"I suppose that would be bothering you. Let me guess, kindness of that level is dead or considered stupid?" she gave a long suffering sigh "Let me see…I've been told I have a saving people thing and also, well let's just say that I have a bone to pick with Shin-ra. Is that a satisfactory enough answer?" All of it delivered in _a way to_ _blank_ tone.

Genesis winced. She was kind of right and he seemed to have stricken sensitive cord. He really didn't like the conclusions he was coming up with.

"Fair enough." He relented finally. "Can I trust you to inform me if you find anything new? How exactly _did_ you come across all this anyway?" even though he had his suspicions.

"Pure luck actually. This Mansion is used as some kind of data storage facility. All of it was stored in the basement. The security was a little bit of nightmare what with Cloud tagging along but we got out of it fine. Isn't this why you're here after all? To catch me. I have to thank you for listening to me really." She gave him a look, a _knowing_ look but Genesis' brain wasn't functioning right now. Because soddenly a whole lot of crap was making sense.

Oh shit. She _did_ know he was coming. She had probably orchestrated the whole thing!

Shit!

"Oh come on! Non of that hostile crap. We kind already established my lack of foul intent." Had he gotten hostile? He hadn't noticed. Oh yep, yes he did. Well _excuse_ _him_ lady!

"You can't expect me to do anything else! You don't spring something like that on anyone and expect them not to freak out!" yeah, there went his composure.

"I suppose I can understand that. I _am_ a touch paranoid myself-" she was interrupted by a scoff coming from the direction of her _skirt?_ To which she gave a baleful look? And a head poked out – oh. Oh! Gaia that was not a skirt!

What he had originally thought was a fluffy black skirt was in reality _a very big black dog!_

How was this his life?

No seriously. Genesis was contemplating ( hoping to any deity to _existence_ ) the possibility that this was a fantasy caused by Mako and alcohol not mixing well from the celebration for the victory in Wutai. And that he would be woken by Angeal with a glass of water to help with his killer hangover. Please make it that the whole week was just a nightmare...

He barely registered the arms around his shoulders and head bringing him in a comforting embrace. He didn't register the soothing words, delivered in soft whispers. He didn't notice when he had moved from the middle of the couch to spread on it with his head on Bella's collarbone.

"Everything's going to be okay."

That was it. He cracked. He sobbed and cried and wailed _and he didn't care._ Because his life has been a lie. Because he was a failure. Because he was dying and no one cared to inform him _because he was not useful anymore._ And really, any attempt to calm himself failed spectacularly, ending with him crying even harder. The fact that he was clutching a strange woman tightly like she was his only lifeline, crying hysterically on her neck didn't register as important. Nothing was, really.

After what felt like hours, he was calm enough to actually register his position though.

And like any sane person would, he tried to distance himself. Only he couldn't. It wasn't that her arms refused to budge. No matter how much he was struggling he didn't want to . This comfort and kindness was completely new.

"Are you sure you are Ok now?" she pined him with a piercing stare. ''Things like that shouldn't be bottled up, less they accumulate and become ticking time bombs, which in turn tend to go off in the worst situations.'' She lectured matter-of-factly.

Genesis gave a snort. He wasn't fine. Not by a long shot. But he could at least deal with it rationally now. And what a sad fact that a stranger could understand him so well. ''Speaking from experience?''

''Gee, what makes you think that?''

"Soooo, what do you really get out of this?"

She chuckled "Well there's a very handsome man in my arms, nestled in my bosom." She wiggled an eyebrow suggestively. He flushed. "But really, didn't I tell you already? I got a bone to pick with Shin-ra."

The amusement she _oozed_ was not the usually associated feeling when it came to opposing Shin-ra.

Yeahhhh, no. Not gonna buy that.

"Is that so? Don't you think you 're biting a bit more than normal?" he prodded in a light manner.

She chuckle ominously and at that moment he _really_ wanted to be _anywhere_ but there "Oh believe me, I know what I'm doing. You should be putting your worry somewhere that it's needed." She patted his head and disentangled herself from where they were half sitting - half laying. She proceeded to head to where there was a desk where there was a trunk placed, which she opened and fished a rectangular box. She walked back to him and handed the box to him. "That's how you'll find me again, don't worry the instructions are included." She gave a wink. "Oh, and I expect you to keep the existence of my little Cloud a secret OK? The village thinks that he's been home for the duration of my stay here." Unsaid went the consequences of failing to do so. The unease that Genesis had just managed to overcome came back tenfold. Along with a big juicy shiver down his spine.

linelinelinelineline

"You think you handled that fine?" Cloud asked Bella, not looking away from the TV. The characteristic button-mashing sound associated with video games and the occasional cuss were filling the room.

"Yep." She answered just as focused on the screen. It was a game called Borderlands this time.

"Really? Cause he seemed pretty shaken." Cloud kept inquiring, still facing the screen.

"…Weeeell, it could have gone better, but really, it could have been way worse." She said nonchalantly. "Behind you."

The sound of buttons being mashed became louder for a moment. "Thanks." Cloud quickly dispatched the enemy behind him. "Really though. At the end the poor man looked like he wanted to be far, far away from you. Couldn't you have toned it a bit down with the magical feats? Hey watch where you're shooting!"

"Sorry. Maybe I should have. Meh." She shrugged.

"Anyway, do you really have to go?" he turned to her. It had been so nice while she had been in Nibleheim.

"Unfortunately. It would only invite trouble now that I have attracted Shin-ra's attention. And it would keep you safe." She answered in an irritated tone. "On a positive note, I have another ally now, and if things go well then two more." She said thoughtfully.

"Why do you even do that? Why go against Shin-ra in the first place?"

"You mean other than them being tyrants hellbent on getting more power and fame even if it means hurting innocent people, supporting deranged maniacs in their depraved crusades and-"

"Okay, okay I got it." He sulked at the tirade. "But why you?" he whined. "You could get hurt." He looked ready to cry.

Bella turned fully to him and prayed that this wouldn't blow up in her face. "It's because they're killing the planet and it is my duty." She pulled him in her arms in a hug and he got himself comfortable.

"What duty? There is Avalanche for that." He grumbled.

"No, you didn't understand me. It's my duty as the Mistress of Death to help preserve the balance between the realm of the dead and the living." Please don't backfire, please don't backfire, _please don't backfire-_

"You're the _what_?!"

"The Mistress of Death. It means that I am… the vessel you could say, of Death in the Mortal plane. Apparently it is too much work even for him, what with there being an entire multiverse." She answered awkwardly.

Cloud looked at her with an unreadable expression, but made no attempt to distance himself from her. The silence that stretched for the next couple of seconds seemed like hours and her apprehension grew greater and greater. After a while, Cloud finally opened his mouth to speak.

"That is so cooool!" he exclaimed with a star struck look. "Does that mean that you are some kind of Guardian Angel? Is that why you have all those awesome powers? And why you want to help so badly?" God-damn it he was bouncing. Well….interesting ….reaction….I guess…? But then again if you put it that way….yeah, sure….

"Yeah, let's go with that." She said hesitantly.

Cloud gave her the biggest smile and hugged her tightly. "Just be careful okay? You may be a angel but that doesn't mean that you can be reckless." He lectured seriously.

Bella ruffled his hair and smiled "Are you lecturing me kid? Me, an angel? You got some nerve." She retorted playfully.

"You already crashed once. It's only logical." He crossed his arms and frowned up at her. "But seriously, be careful." He added seriously.

"You don't need to worry. How about I visit you every couple of weeks? And I give you something to communicate with me on a regular base? Hm?" she had already summoned her trunk and was fishing for something in it.

"Really? You would really do that? And we will keep contact?" he looked at her in disbelief and hope. Really, had no one ever done anything nice for this kid?

"Well duh! You got involved with me and you are never getting rid of me now. Oh and if you don't call at least once every two days I'll call to pester the crap out of you.'' She said while handing him another rectangular box, like the one she had given to Genesis. ''This is what people where I come from call a phone, not these bulky, ancient monstrosities you people insist are phones. And since I have no intention of trolling you, it is already sett up and ready to use. And the manual is far easier to understand if you need to take a look. Though I suggest you keep it a secret, along with your visits. Let the village think you haven't spoken to me since I moved here.'' She winked at the end having adopted a lecture-ish pose.

Cloud looked at the almost twice as big as his palm box in his hands and then at her unsure of whether he was hearing her right. And he was tearing up. He suddenly launched himself at her – not that much of a distance since he was on her lap – holding onto her tightly.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you! I'll call I promise." He exclaimed with a big happy smile.

"Good. Now how about we finish this and then I'll show you another game? I've got some time before I leave."

"Ok!"

linelinelinelineline

Bella had sent Cloud home for about an hour so that she could "pack". In truth she was erasing all evidence of her stay in the hidden basement and filching and duplicating anything that had cauth her interest, outside of the incriminating evidence of course. Which is when Vincent approached her.

"Mistress of Death?" she asked even though it was a given that's what he was wondering about. It was common couryesy after all.

"Yes, please."

She took a breath "To make an extremely long story short, at some point in my life, fate made it so I gathered three powerful objects that were intimately connected with Death. And since my personality fits his criteria, I gained that title. Now I have the duty to help with resolving incidents that threaten the balance of souls between the worlds of the dead and the living." She concluded.

"Why?" he asked blankly.

"Not gonna disbelieve me? That's weird. As for why, let's just say that the multiverse is far more of a hassle to deal with than what it seems." She answered, shuddering at the word "multiverse".

"Normally I would, but you register in my senses as "Death" too much for me to blissfully ignore." The fact that it set him even more on edge now went unsaid.

"If it makes you feel better, it's not Death's power that I used to help you with your beasts. And there are no cliché consequences like me getting your soul, or cutting down on your lifespan." She quipped helpfully.

Vincent stared at her blankly. "I see."

"You are taking this remarkably well." She stated questioningly, urging him to explain.

"Hn."

"You are such an eloquent guy." Bella deadpanned.

And then silence. So Bella went on with wrapping things up. She was about to leave the lab when Vincent spoke again.

"I'm coming with you." She nearly tripped at the suddenness of the statement. She looked at him questioningly. This time he did elaborate. "You were right when saying that staying here isn't fixing anything. If I want redemption then I have to seek it. I think that helping you is going to be the best way to go about it." He reasoned.

"I see. Welcome aboard." She smiled at him. "And we're ready to leave. Sirius," she turned to the dog " you big worywart, get back to watching Shinra." The dog whined and disappeared with a pop. At that moment, the owl flew from the bookcase she was perched at, on to her owners soldier.

"Could you also explain the animals?"

Bella gave a hearty laugh.

linelinelinelineline

After saying goodbye to the Strifes she headed towards the forest away from the mountains where she met Vincent.

"First things first, we're heading to the reactor. First thing that has to go is Jenova." She said decisively.

"So the monstrosity is here, huh. Okay, how do we get there?"

"Originaly I was going to fly. You can come with me on the broom or I can go ahead, determine the location, and then apparate us there. Apparition is teleportation." She said while reading her broom. If Vincent was thinking anything about the obvious cliché, he didn't say it.

"I can follow you without difficulty." Was what he said instead.

So without further delay they headed towards the mountains, her on her broom and him as a red mist.

The Reactor, just like the Manor, was packed with monsters that Vincent was kind enough to identify. Between the worm-like, multi-eyed tentacles, the demonic birds and the golem thingies, she was just about to just fiendfire the whole place.

When they finally reached the container room she got to work, inscribing combustion and disintegration runes on the tanks with the monstrosities, and setting a delayed trigger to make sure they would be nowhere near the place when the place went to hell. Moving to the room designated to Jenova they gave pause.

What greeted them was an angel-like construct made if metal with the wings covering the tank. Symbolism much? Bella found it quite ironic that the alien life form that literally _fell_ from the sky had a protective shell in the form of an angel. Considering the foul life force the thing emitted. She could feel that it was in a catatonic state and she would really like to keep it that way till the end.

So she got to work, overpowering already overpowered runes, setting interlocking matrixes and complicated arrays, just to make sure that the thing was _not_ going to survive this by any means. The finished product was a giant interconnected system of circles, lines and letters in at least five different languages, _just_ to be sure, covering the majority of the room's surface

Anyone else would have called it overkill but she called caution. She knew what this thing had done. When asked in private, Death ( and Vincent had almost hyperventilated when she had called the deity all the way down to the basement) had explained in horrific detail how this abomination had manipulated the Cetra and in the end caused their annihilation. So no. She wasn't taking any chances. The science bigwigs of Shin-ra should have garbed it like a demon instead.

When she was done she turned to Vincent, who was watching the entire time and was making sure that no monster snuck up on them, marched up to him grabbed him and apparated outside where she set up illusion runes so that no one would notice anything amiss once the deed was done. Then she grabbed the poor disoriented fellow and apparated all the way to the forest where they had started after leaving the village.

Immediately Vincent keeled over heaving while using a tree as support to make sure that his wobbling legs wouldn't fail him even further than they were now. They were shaking so bad. Gaia that was unpleasant. "Next time, warn me." He chocked out.

"Sorry, but I wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. The _thing_ made my skin crawl." She didn't sound apologetic. "Let's get going, the runes will activate in ten minutes and I don't wanna be anywhere near the place when it happens."

"Do you have any place in mind?" he asked, now only a bit dizzy and standing straight again.

"I want to learn more about materia. Do you know any place that could be useful?"

"There is Cosmo Canyon." He answered.

"Okay then. Lead the way." Her excitement was back while she mounted her broom, rising to the sky.

linelinelinelineline

linelinelinelineline

 **Omake**

 _Sirius is a worrywart._

Bella was reading one of the files Andrew had found about Deepground when her phone rang.

"Hello?"

"It's me" Sirius's voice rang out.

" Hi there Sirius, is something wrong?"

"Has he arrived yet?"

"Who?"

"The bastard from Shin-ra of course!"

She blinked. "Ummm, no? The report that Andrew sent stated that the Shin-ra squad will be arriving tomorrow night. We're a day early." She deadpanned.

"Mistakes can happen. And what if the Rapsodos guy comes early?" Sirius rambled out in worry.

"That's not possible. The mission has just been submitted, and he won't be given the file until a couple of hours." She answered irritably. She had a hunch about where this was going.

"But what if they send a reconnaissance squad first?"

"That could not happen either because there would have been a mission file submitted. Andrew would have noticed something being uploaded to the database." She sighed.

"Are you trusting that random Reaper more than your own godfather?" and he sounded like he actually believed it.

She almost spit out her tea. "What? No! Of course not! But-"

"But nothing, young lady. Your plan is way to dangerous. You should cancel it."

Oh, here was the headache. "I can't do that. The file has already been submitted. They would have sent a team anyways, I just tweaked it to fit my plans. And that's they only one likely to listen to me and think logically later."

"But he looks like a playboy!" Wait, what?

"Eh?"

"Who knows what he could do to my innocent little girl!"

Again. Eh?

"Wait, that's the problem? That's what you're worried about? Oh and I am neither little nor innocent! The poor guy will have other things worry about after the news he recieves. " she exclaimed. "And you're there for God's sake. You would have known if anyone had been sent out. You're watching the damn _President_!"

"But what if the bastard Hojo got impatient and sent a team himself? Or Hollander? What if they come in person? That's it, I'm coming there!" and he hanged up on her.

Bella blinked. And then blinked again. Then looked at the phone.

"What the bloody Hell was that?"

Linelinelinelineline

 **Omake#2**

 _Delivering a message._

It was just as Rapsodos' report had come in. For some reason the President himself wanted to see it so Heidegger forwarded it unaware of it's consequences.

Up in the President office, Shinra Sr. and Hojo were waiting anxiously for the report to come. The President curious and the scientist furious because the squad had come back empty handed. In their hubris they disregarded the fact that the leader of the mission was Commander Rapsodos, instead of a Turk.

Shame. If they had they may had cottoned on a lot sooner that they would have in the future.

Sirius was waiting with manic glee himself for the report to come in. He was the one delivering the message after all. Having made sure to ward the room appropriately of course. It wouldn't do for them to be interrupted now, would it.

The moment it came in and was read, citing that the mansion was empty, was the moment that the plan came into motion.

The room went immediately dark, unnaturally so. There was no light coming from the windows too, like they were in a dark void. Suddenly the two corrupt men found themselves unable to move. It became cold and they were filled with fear and dread that weren't even their own. It was pain, horror and hopelessness. They felt like they were going to die.

Sirius donned the old Reaper uniform. It was a pendant really, depicting the hallows, that changed their appearance to what they really were in Death's eyes. Since he was a Reaper he took the form of one. Namely the form that Death s usually depicted as.

Oh yes.

What appeared in front of them was a decrepit skeleton, wearing a tattered hood and clutching a scythe. It had still pieces of rotted, falling flesh hanging from its bones and it smelled of stale air and regrets. Its head was that of a dog with bigger than normal canines and from the darkness of its empty sockets, two red dots were glaring at them with malice. Its legs were that of a dog too with wicked, bloody claws attached to the toes.

Both men were staring, eyes wide with fear. To their credit, no one had soiled their pants, yet.

It just stood there and slowly, very slowly raised a long, clawed finger and pointed at them.

The tension was at its peak. And then, killing intent flooded the room and Sirius let out blood curdling screech.

The two men screamed terrified. Now they did shitt their pants.

And then, the Reaper disappeared in cloud of ashes.

The darkness dissipated to something natural, but in the shadows they could clearly make out, in the wall in front of them, the word "GUILTY" written in fresh blood.

Test would later show that it was THEIR blood.

But it wasn't over yet.

That had been Andrew's signal. He plunged the entire Shin-ra buildings into darkness with an instant blackout. But only the building. Everything around it kept working fine. And in the Chaos, he corrupted all of the sensitive files and deleted everything associated with the electricity bills of the people of Midgar.

It would take them days to fix and one Reeve Tuesti would be cursing them to high heaven for the rest of his life.

 **Aaaand cut! This one was bid also. Damn, it seems that I can't write small.**

 **So, to explain some things that you might be wandering.**

 **1: I had Genesis meet her because, for me, he is the one less likely to go bonkers. Sephiroth is out for obvious reasons and Angeal went a bit crazy with self-hate when he found out. Genesis, while canonically went rogue, I believe it was because he was in a dark place emotionally and was really afraid for his life, along with the fact that the degeneration was really advanced. The circumstances are different now** _ **and**_ **he knows the whole story. Also expect to see the inferiority complex he has with Sephiroth going down a couple notches, or ten. With Bella around, it ain't gonna last. It will remind her too much of Ron and she will be far more "enthusiastic" to get rid of it than the others.**

 **2: If the reveal and reactions were anticlimactic, there is a reason. Put the pitchforks down please! Cloud is a kid, and no mater how mature, something like that registers far easier. Also, Bella sees herself in Cloud in regards of childhood issues and that's the reason she didn't hide anything from him, just like she sees herself in Seph, Genesis, and Angeal in regards of all of them having been screwed over very early in their lives. She won't hide anything from them either since she haven't wanted anything hidden from herself. Just like Death said, she understands their predicament intimately, and doesn't want any of their situations to get where hers did.**

 **As for Vincent, well he can feel her aura and it registers as Death to him. So no, no big surprise there.**

 **3: That of course doesn't mean that she will reveal anything personal right of the bat nor will she ever go out of her way to hide it. She'll let them make assumptions until they ask them themselves. But she** _ **will**_ **have a laugh at them tripping over themselves trying to figure her out. She is a marauder by blood after all.**

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter, it was rather fun to right, even though a certain part came out more angsty than I planned.**

 **I hope you have a very nice day**

 **~Sil.**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The road to Cosmo Canyon wasn't difficult per say, but Vincent had quite a lot to say about it. Mostly concerning his traveling companion and the… surprises that entailed.

Bella Potter – whose full name was Belladonna Melania Potter-Black, go figure she was royalty – was a quirky but efficient woman in the vast majority of what she did, if a tad (a lot) paranoid. _Deadly_ efficient. So it should have been no surprise that she was just as quick and efficient in growing onto him, despite the ever-present weirdness.

Seriously there were times that he thought he was still in his coffin and finally had gone senile and hallucinating. Yes, it was that bad! Well not _bad,_ but the times that thought reared its head were so many it wasn't even funny!

Her being perfectly able to defend herself as she was ,apparently, extremely powerful, was no news. Her power usage was very creative too. But that's where things started getting iffy. Elemental magic was a norm and the way she handled it was impressive but that was the only familiar thing about it.

From then on, her magic became a clusterfuck of impossible feats and downright ridiculously useless bullshit. And that's about the magic she used by hand. The runes, the potions, the artifacts, _the freaking tent_ (because that deserved to be noted) _,_ with every little example of what her magic could do had him feeling like his sanity was diminishing. Little by little. He dreaded to imagine what a group, let alone an entire nation of people like her could do, if the ' _where-I-come-from_ 's were anything to go by.

"I hear you refer to where you come from rather frequently. So where exactly are you from?" he had asked her after one of those moments.

"Another world. This is an …assignment of sorts." She had answered and _Gaia_ at that moment did he wish he had been more surprised.

"Explain. Please."

"Well, to put it simply, this world is dying and I was sent here by the behest of Death to save it so that the balance of souls is sustained. Despite popular belief, Death doesn't want too many people dying, actually, most of the stereotypes concerning the guy are false." She answered a little _too_ calmly.

"Why you?" he was past the point of questioning things.

"Well, remember when I told you that I ended up gathering three items that in the end gave me my title? While that did elevate my power beyond humanly possible, I am still a human with ties to the mortal plane and as such I can interact with it. You see, Death can suppress his power for so long, before the restrains fray and he starts damaging the world around him, and his Reapers can't do it either because the firmly belong to the world of the dead, plus none of them can handle the power. Even if they did, Death can't assign a lot of people since there is, apparently, a shortage of Reapers. Also, in the guy's words, I did fine the first time." She grumbled at the end. There was a story to be told there but she seemed bitter about it.

So he chose to go the respectful way about satisfying his curiosity. "May I ask what you mean by "first time"?"

Her expression had soured and he instantly knew that it was not a nice experience. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." he had rushed but she had given him a broken smile exacerbated by the broken look in her eyes. Vincent knew these eyes, had seen them before, in the faces of veteran Turks and SHOLDIERs, people at least three times her age.

It had been one of the rare moments of weakness he'd seen while traveling with the witch and for all the fear that came from an instinctual level, he really didn't like the look in her eyes.

She then gave a sigh that was more resigned than anything. "It's okay. Maybe talking about it with someone who doesn't know a thing will help me get over it. But after we set up camp. It will take a while." she had smiled weakly.

That night Vincent had come to understand the paranoia, the efficiency of her assaults and defenses, the quirky behavior, _the insomnia_ -Oh Gaia the insomnia that had worried him in the mansion - and even worse, the night terrors ( he remembered the haunting sounds, as she thrashed around the bed in one of the dilapidated rooms in the Shinra Mansion, screaming her throat raw. And he sure as hell remembered the fear in her eyes when she had woken up shaking like a leaf and looking wildly around her. No wonder she avoided sleep.) Back then he had wondered what could have caused the confident and determined woman to look like this and he had finally found out.

Most of all, he had come to understand her motives behind helping those three men. She genuinely sympathized with them as a fellow human being that had been dealt a horrible hand on life. She didn't want anyone else to go through what she had and he couldn't help but admire her.

linelinelinelineline

When they reached Cosmo Canyon, they were greeted in the entrance of the village a guard who eyed them both suspiciously. Neither Bella nor Vincent could blame him really. A dark clothed vampire look-alike with a demonic claw hand and a woman dressed in a cloak and a witch hat weren't really a regular sight.

"State your business." The guard said curtly.

Bella gave him a bright, disarming smile. "I'm here to study and my friend is just accompanying me."

"We are full right now so we have nowhere to put you up." The guard retorted a bit aggressively. It was quite obvious he didn't want them here. Well, no problem, she could deal with something like that.

"Oh, don't worry! We can camp it out at the base of the mountain. As a researcher I have gotten used to being away from civilization for the sake of my research." she said in an overly cheery voice.

"The heat can get pretty extreme. I doubt your pretty face can handle it." A tick was forming on the guard's temple.

The smile was looking almost painful "Oh quite the contrary! Compared to the constant rain and gloom back home, this weather is quite wonderful!" Also she had cooling charms. Seriously though, were those sparkles and flowers in the background? Vincent didn't know why he was surprised…

There was surely a twitch on the temple now, along with his hand. "Is something the matter?" An elderly man interrupted. He looked the stereotypical old man, a white long beard, hunched over with a walking stick, a hand behind his back.

"It is nothing, Elder Bugenhagen." The guard rushed to reassure the old man. "Just a couple of travelers."

"Then why don't you let them pass?" The jovial tone did nothing to mask the disappointment towards the guard. "I know that you are worried about Shin-ra, but not all travelers are Turks in disguise. Quite the contrary, Turks would try to dress as inconspicuous as possible." He lectured waving at the way the travelers were dressed.

The guard looked like he had something to say, but ultimately decided not to and let them pass. "Thank you for your kindness Elder." Bella said respectfully giving a short bow while Vincent nodded his hair, choosing not to say anything. He did give his companion a curious glance at her gesture. It was very similar to Wutai greeting.

"Think nothing of it. So, what brings you to our town, dear?" the old man reasured her jovially.

"I am here to learn more about the planet."

"Is that so? Then i dare say you are at the best possible place. Come this way, I would be glad to help you in any way I can."

Bella gave a beaming smile and followed the elder with an almost skip to her step and Vincent right behind her.

linelinelinelineline

Genesis was pacing in the living room of his apartment, impatiently waiting for Angeal and Sephiroth to arrive. He had reason to be nervous, after all, he was going to be springing the news to them pretty soon.

He had tried occupying himself but so far nothing worked. Not even his beloved Loveless! What else, what else…?

His eyes fell on the _contraption_ that Bella had given him. It had taken him a whole week to figure out how to use it and when he finally did, a message came in from her congratulating him! He did not want to know how she did it.

And speaking of her deeds, he was pretty damn sure that the blackout, almost right after he submitted his report if his sense of timing was right, was her doing also. Sephiroth had said that Hojo was incredibly jumpy and looked very sleep deprived after that and showed no indication of getting better, to his vindictive amusement. And the rumors said that president Shinra was also in a similar situation.

Served the fuckers right!

The bell rang and he jolted. He took a fortifying breath and opened the door. Both Angeal and Sephiroth were at the door. And both instantly realised his distress.

"What's wrong Genesis?" Angeal inquired on worry.

Genesis sighed and motioned them in. "Come in and have a seat. This is going to be long."

Angeal and Sephiroth exchanged looks of curiosity and worry. They took a seat in the living room and were startled when they noticed that Genesis had moved his computer to the coffee table. He came back with two flash drives and gave each of them one. "I came across a peculiar person in my last mission and she gave me these."

"You mean in your mission to Nibleheim? The on you were complaining so vehemently about?" Sephiroth asked while plugging his disk.

"Yeah. The mission was about some 'strange phenomena' but really, I think they wanted me to apprehend her because of where she was. Did you know that the Shinra Mansion in the outskirts of Nibleheim is used to store the science department's records?" that got their attention.

Finally, Sephiroth had the files on the screen and reading and Genesis had the dubious honor of watching the stoic General's face pale even more than his normal complexion and his eyes widen in horror as one trembling hand rose slowly to cover his mouth. No matter how surreal it seamed to him, Genesis was pretty sure that his face was the same when he saw _his_ files.

"Sephiroth?" Angeal exclaimed worriedly, clasping his friend's shoulder.

"This…this is" he choked out "can this be trusted?"

"As much as I want to deny it, yes. I have actual proof in my case."

He had tried it after he left uselessly believing that it was all a dream. He had cut himself in the hand and after the wound took too long to close up he had tried materia. The **Cure** had a marked delay too.

"What do you mean Genesis?" Angeal asked.

"Let Sephiroth finish and read your own file." He replied "I'm getting the alcohol."

"Yes please." The Silver General choked out.

By the time he came back Sephiroth had finished and was cradling his head in his hands with the heels of his hands on his forehead and his elbows on his knees. He was taking steadying breaths while Angeal's were getting steadily ragged, he was the one reading now.

Genesis put a glass in front of Sephiroth and filled it. His friend took one had of his face, grabbed the glass and took a large gulp. "What about the woman's motives?"

"I think she is one of the Science Department's escaped experiments. What I read in the files suggests that there were more test subjects. Her eyes were glowing when I saw her, too." Genesis explained.

Sephiroth nodded and took another gulp. "So she was screwed over like us and is either doing this out of sympathy or she wants revenge, probably both." He took another gulp "either way these records are too accurate and detailed to have been falsified." He concluded with a sigh. "We have been lied to our entire lives."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

A sigh and then a pause. "My mother was a scientist named Lucretia Crescent and my father a Turk named Vincent Valentine. Hojo and Lucretia were in a relationship but then Lucretia fell in love with my biological father, inciting Hojo's hatred. Hojo is not my father and Jenova…"he shuddered. Genesis put a comforting hang on his shoulder

"Yeah, I am disgusted with it too."

A sigh got their attention. Turning they saw that Angeal had finished and was leaning on the couch, head tilted back and eyes closed.

"You Ok there buddy?" Genesis poured a glass to Angeal too.

"This is a nightmare."

"You said it." Sephiroth snorted and downed the rest of his glass.

"We are part of the same project, what are the differences?" Angeal asked eerily calm.

Both of his friends were looking at him and he contemplated what he could say. Lying would comfort them but it wouldn't serve in the long run. The truth thou opened up a whole different can of worms, especially with Bella's offer. He was half expecting them to baby him and that would drive them crazy. Still though his problem was possibly Angeal's and they would need to deal with it sooner or later, preferably sooner.

"I am dying from the inside out. A simple cut took too long to heal and the materia was delayed too." he said plainly "Not soon!" he rushed to explain when they're curiosity and worry became horror. "The Jenova cells _are_ killing me but I have 5, maybe 6 years left, plus an exteremely extensive injury in that time frame, something to trigger the cell death.I am not completely out of time find a way to fix it."

To his credit, the horror did subside, if not by much.

"Do you have any ideas?" Angeal was taking deep breaths. He was taking it hard.

"Well, Bella, the one who found these said that she should be able to help, but Angeal… my records said that there are chances that the same that's happening to me, may happen to you." He said softly and he was sure that his emotions were showing in his eyes.

His friend's breath hitched and the both of them looked like they forgot how to breathe. Finally, the Silver General regained his composure. "That seems a bit too convenient and not just the help with the cure, but the whole situation." He said solemnly.

"You don't say! I am certain that she planned the meeting and I'm also pretty sure that she is responsible for the blackout. She did say that I should be more worried about Shin-ra rather than her. And the magic she used is no materia for any of it and _I_ would know. Overall she felt very sincere but there were a couple times that made me really glad she was not after me " He didn't care how excited he sounded about the foreign magic nor how apprehensive he was about everything else. It had been impressive damnit and he was itching to learn how it worked. As for the rest of it, there was something deep within him, a part he hadn't felt since before enlisting, a part that urged him to be cautious even if there was no hostility.

His friend laughed softly and he gave a chuckle too. When they calmed down it was Angeal who spoke "If that is indeed true then making assumptions when we isn't going to be of much help. We should meet her." He adressed the rest of his friend's sentence.

"Yes do you have any means of communication with her?" that was Sephiroth.

He must have looked pained because his friend grew concerned again. "It's not that I don't have a means to contact her, it's just that… actually, I'll show you." He fished the – he guessed it was a phone – out of his pocket and placed it on the coffee table. "She gave me this, along with instructions on how to operate it, which was a nightmare in and of itself. But this is it." The looks both Sephiroth and Angeal gave him spoke of their doubt by themselves.

"I know how that sounds but she actually sent me a message once I managed to get it right." More like she somehow knew and sent the message herself but their 'relationship' was already on shaky grounds.

Angeal gave a sigh and took his first sip of alcohol – it was vodka – and grimaced. "Don't you have anything stronger?"

Before he could answer, a knock on his balcony's glass door had them sitting up tense. His apartment was on the tenth floor.

Their attention was at the curtain covered doors and Genesis slowly and silently walked toward s the balcony. They were all tense, ready for action. Their enhanced senses weren't catching anything though. As if there was no one there. But they were all sure they heard the knock.

When Genesis reached the door, he grabbed one end of the curtain in one hand with a materia ready on the other.

Suddenly, he pulled the curtain and saw… nothing. There was nothing in front of him. "Eh?"

"There is nothing there." Angeal sounded bewildered.

"Did we imagine it?"

"I don't know" Genesis went to close the curtain. Another knock sounded. Their eyes flew to the glass door and Genesis realized what was making the sound. There was a snow white bird, in front of the door, sitting on a package and staring up at him.

"Um…I think I found it."

The bird must have flown to the balcony and knocked into the glass…?

"What's a snowy owl doing here?"

"I don't know Seph." Genesis went to close the curtain again and the bird knocked the glass again and this time huffed too in what seemed to be indignation.

"I think it wants to be let in Gen"

"I kinda figured it out Geal!"

The bird was tapping its talons now in a show of impatience. It was acting eerily smart. So, with great reluctance, Genesis opened the door for the owl.

The owl raised itself and the pack with a series of quick flaps of its wings and swooped into the apartment and on the coffee table, depositing its cargo in front of them. The contents jingled lightly. It sounded like glass.

"I didn't know messenger birds were still a thing." Sephiroth raised an elegant brow.

"I don't think they are." Angeal scratched the back of his head.

The white owl headed gracefully towards Genesis and lifted its leg. There was a cylinder container strapped to it and Genesis carefully opened it and pulled out a rolled up envelope. The bird though, did not leave yet.

Genesis unrolled the letter, witch to his surprise straightened out by itself, no crease in sight now.

He really shouldn't have been so surprised by what greeted him.

 _Dear Mr. Rapsodos_

 _I thought you and your friends may need this. God knows I did when I went through these files._

 _Bella Potter_

 _P.S. Be a dear and give something to Hedwigh. The poor thing has flown from Cosmo Canyon. Preferably bacon if you have any._

 _P.S.S. If you want you can send a message back to me by Hedwigh. ;)_

 _P.S.S.S. Don't worry, it's not poisoned._

They shared looks of incredulity.

"This is the woman you were talking about?" Sephiroth asked perturbed.

"It definitely sounds like her." Genesis answered dryly. The letter carried the same mischievous tone he had come to associate her with in the limited time they spent together.

"What did she send?" Angeal warily took the package and opened it. What he found was three bottles of different coloration. "I think it's alcohol" Angeal caught a glimpse of paper under the bottles and pulled it out.

 _Unless_ _you_ _count_ _alcohol_ _poisoning_.

"Yes, it's alcohol. I do not want to know how."

"Wait a minute to give the owl something to eat and then we can get wasted together." Genesis had already gotten up and was heading towards the kitchen, beyond exhaysted mentally for such peskg things like asking questions. If the booze was poisoned then the Mako would eat through it anyway.

"If I'm reading these percentages right it's very probable. I wish she put in more." Angeal said mournfully. 75,5%, 84,5% and 92%. Not even their enhancements held a candle to enough of these numbers.

The forgotten phone on the table buzzed and the two remaining in the living room were tense again. The notification for a new message flashed on the screen.

"Now what?" Genesis irritated voice sounded as he came back with a plate with some bacon for Bella's messenger.

"A message" Sephiroth said plainly as Angeal handed the phone to Genesis.

"Let me see" the Crimson General took the phone, dragged his finger across the screen quickly in a pattern unlocking it and brought the message up. And then rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"This woman….turn the note on its back."

"Why" the Dark General questioned but did so anyway.

"Because she just sent a message saying to do so" he sat down heavily, put the plate on the table and turned the phone screen so his friend could see. There was a huffing noise from the owl - that was now decimating the meat – that sounded too much like a laugh. All three had the distinct impression that the bird was laughing at them.

The back of the paper had a weird character inscribed on it.

Another message came. This time Genesis put the phone face up so all of them could read the message.

- _Put a bottle on it._

"This is getting weird." Angeal muttered and his two friends nodded tiredly.

"Do it. Might as well see what happens." The Silver General ran a hand down his face.

"But Seph! What if it blows up." The redhead teased.

"Then you're looking for a new house." Came the blank reply.

Genesis gasped theatrically. "You won't put me up? How cruel!"

"And be firced to put up with you? No. Go bother Angeal"

"Oi! Don't bring me into this!"

They laughed, dispelling some of the gloominess and amid laughing, Genesis grabbed the bottle closest to him and placed it squarely on the character. There was a quick flash of light and where there was one now there where two bottles.

Okaaaaaay…

Before they could even question what they were seeing another message came in.

- _The rune duplicates what is placed upon it so make sure the bottles are full. The rune is charged for twelve more uses._

"Is she watching us!?" Angeal exclaimed disturbed.

Another buzz.

- _If you are wondering, no, I am not watching you, but it is a secret how I know.;)_

Their eyes immediately flew to the bird that had finished with the bacon and was now making huffing sounds and was even trembling a bit.

"Are you laughing at us, bird?" Genesis shouted in outrage.

The bird shot him a _look_ and just kept trembling and huffing. Yes, the owl was laughing at them. How was this his life!?

Angeal looked very tempted to say something offensive but settled for a glare. The owl glared right back with the same ferocity.

"We should send that message to her" Sephiroth said after a long pause. He sounded as tired as they felt.

"We should schedule a vacation." Genesis really looked forward to drinking himself into unconsciousness.

They would be feeling the hangover for two full days after that night.

linelinelinelineline

Still, the meeting was set to be a month later in Costa del Sol.

Bella had just sent her consent and excused herself for the night. It would ne fun sneeking around Shinra territory.

Still, she could feel a storm brewing and she had to get ready for it. A lot of things would be happening in the coming months. This show would finally be getting on the road.

linelinelinelineline

 **Ok this took too long for my liking. Forgive me my slight all you wonderful readers out there but I was on vacation in Crete.**

 **Before you get angry, there is a reason I excluded Gen's habit of spouting poetry at everything that breathes in the last two chaps. I wanted to show how serious the situation was for him. Ok? Good.**

 **I'm pretty sure that you all now what to expect next chapter so I won't say anything, I will however say that I have been imagining and building it in my mind for some now. ;)**

 **I have been told that my story is very similar to another one in this site, I think it's called Wandering Heart(?). As thus I have decided to not read it until this story is finished. That way whatever similarities pop up is coincidence. At least that's how it works in my head.**

 **I own nothing but the plot, unfortunately.**

 **Goodbye all you wonderful readers and have a nice day!**

 **~Sil**


	6. Chapter 6

**I don't own anything other than the plot and the few OC's that pop up.**

Chapter 6

Vincent woke up that morning with a feeling of dread settling in his stomach. A glance at the clock on his bedside – because Bella refused to let him sleep in a coffin while accompanying her – revealed that it was 6 a.m. in the morning. Wading through the soft sheets the red silk felt like water against his skin. The coolnes was a pleasant reprieve from the stifling heat of Cosmo Canyon.

He brought his legs to the side of the king size bed and sat on the edge rubbing his eyes, not really wanting to get up just yet. He was not ashamed to admit that he had gotten almost addicted to the impossibly comfortable quarters he was provided. His Turk side was crying tears of despair at how used he had gotten of the luxury and thus how "soft" he had gotten.

Bella had laughed at his predicament.

Might as well she what the new day had in store for him.

linelinelinelineline

He found Bella in the living room of the tent - he really couldn't get used to the fact that a two person tent could _somehow_ have an entire _mansion_ on the inside that could put the Shinra Mansion to shame – curled in an armchair, reading a book. In the little table in front of her was a tea kettle a half empty cup.

When she noticed him she gave him a soft smile. "Good morning Vincent. Tea? There's breakfast on the table." Said table was in the kitchen next to the living room for easy access to the dining table.

He had learned that she wouldn't let him off without at least two full meals a day. And that was after heated debate. He was a Turk ( former ) damnit! He could take care of himself.

He chose to ignore the fact that he was getting comfortable enough with her to not be terrified of her presence.

"Yes please." He had also developed an appreciation for high quality tea. And no, he was not getting addicted to that too.

Half an hour later he had joined her in the living room calmly sipping his tea. "What are you reading?"

"A thesis on entropy curses. I am looking for any potentially useful components to put into the runic arrays for Genesis and probably Angeal too. Though I will be able to do better after a full diagnosis spell. The information in the Mansion was outdated by a year at least." She answered in a monotone, not even looking up from her book.

"Entropy curses?"

"Curses that cause the afflicted to rot from the inside out"

What twisted soul came up with that?

"Their predicament is commonplace back in your world?" He asked trying to keep the horror out of his voice.

"Not exactly, at least not anymore." Thank Gaia "Entropy curses were used during the war against Grindelwald and to a lesser extent in the first war against Voldemort. As thus a great deal of information was gathered on them in order to break them. A curse breaker can do it and various potions can be used against them too. The runic approach is more complicated and pricey and despite the far better results was not a common solution. I can brew the potion _and_ make the arrays. Thing is, this is not the curse and I can't assume that those methods will work." It was as if she was reciting a book, still speaking monotonously and focused on her book.

"You're meeting in a month right? Is it not too much time for something like that? Is it not too little time for you for that matter?" Vincent asked concerned.

"Another month on top of the year this thing has been going on for isn't going to do more damage than it's already been done. The records said that there are a few more years before the degeneration starts presenting a " _real"_ problem." This time she did let go of her book to do the quotation marks. She was obviously reciting the records and she was obviously irritated at the callous way it was worded. "God damnit, this is people we are talking about! Treating their very probable painful deaths like collateral damage is so twisted! By Merlin, it is way to early for drinking." One hand was raised to pinch at the bridge of her nose while the other was already inching towards the alcohol cabinet.

Yeah, she was irritated.

"How is your progress?" he inquired in order to direct the conversation to the other matter that had gone unanswered due to her frustration. He was intrigued by the sheer variety of runes provided and their conversations in the matter so far were both enlightening and, dare he say, soothing.

She gave a sigh "Shitty. I'll have to ask Sei-chan for more books."

"Sei-chan?" that's the first timd he heard that name.

"A very good friend of mine back in Japan. So far he's sent me a couple of books and the majority of of games I've introduced to Cloud-dearest from my stash back home."

"You have contact with your own world?" He stood a little straighter.

"Yep . My phone can actually reach beyond dimensions. It's how the magical schooling system works back in Japan, one of the countries in my world. The majority of the students decide to keep up with their mundane education, so the Japanese School of Magic is in a separate, parallel dimension where time runs differently." she answered amused. "They are specialized phones with controlled distribution though."

"So you can go back if you wish to and can others come too?" there was that feeling of dread again…

"Well, yes and no. If I wanted to go, I would have to train my abilities in using the Kaleidoscope, which would take more time than I am comfortable investing right now, or I would have to ask Zelretch, my teacher, which I am not comfortable doing at all, at any time. It is through his power that I am sent the before mentioned items, but in that situation he is content with watching the chaos wrought by little Cloud's improved intelect and strategic thinking and the chaos that I am happy handing out myself. Other than that, no he isn't sending anyone over unless I or Death ask him to and even then it's shaky. Going back however, would defend the purpose of being sent here. And I, would not strive to do so until I am done here, no matter how much I complain about it. I'm kinda invested."

"I see." he breathed an internal sigh of relief. Only one of them so far... "Is there something wrong between you and your teacher?"

"Other than the fact that he is a troll that likes humiliating his students, is a general annoyance and asks for humiliating things for return in order to feed his obsessions no. And that sounded really wrong..." she rushed to explaining after seeing the alarm on his face "He passes around wands that grant a serious amount of power that unfortunately comes with a transformation into a very frilly, very girly outfit that I avoid on principle. Especially since I have a reputation to keep amongst my peers in Clock Tower." she had explained to him the mini Hell the first few months were.

"So his is the case of him being an inconvenience just for the fun of it, completely disregarding your feelings in the matter. Isn't that harassment? Why is he still there?" Because really, this was just begging for someone to snap and try to murder the asshole.

"He doesn't really go out of his way to ruin people's lives and he actually gets results. He trains some really good mages." She answered with a long suffering sigh " The only reason I am left mostly alone is because my life is already hectic enough for him to be entertained and also I can outprank him any day of the week with only mild effort."

"I…see." He really didn't. Not sure he _wanted_ to, to be honest.

With a snap she closed the book and tossed it in the corner of discarded books. Was that pile really that big last night?

"This one is useless too. I need more books. Might as well visit Cloud while I wait for them to arrive." And she conjured her phone with a snap of her fingers before dialing a number in lightning fast speed. And at that moment, as if conjured along with the phone, the blonde little boy popped into existence, stumbling a bit from the portkey, a candlestick that promptly vanished.

"Bella!" he shouted urgently " I need help."

Vincent was already moving to get his gun, the dread that had started fading coming back in spades. Bella was kneeling to Cloud's level to get the full view of the situation. "What's wrong sweety? What happened?"

"The mayor's daughter! She went up in the mountains alone. She's in danger!" Bella was immediately up from the ground, her clothes changing with a ruffle into loose trousers, a tank top and plain boots, all in black, scooping the boy up heading for the portkey, a plain vase on top of the dining table. "What possessed her to do something so monumentally stupid?"

"Her mom's died." The little blonde said sorrowfully. "She doesn't want to accept it and is convinced that her mom is at the other side of the mountain." His grip on her shirt tightened a bit. It was clear he was putting himself in the girl's situation. So she ran a hand through his hair and wordlessly summoned her trunk, shrunk it and put it in her pocket to take hold of the portkey.

"I don't think you need to come too Vincent." she turned apologetic eyes to him.

"I have a bad feeling."

"Ok then. Hold on tight."she gestured for him to grab the vase while she tightened her hold on Cloud, who was also grabbing the vase too.

And they were wisked off to Nibleheim.

The phone was left forgotten, along with the poor sap that actually answered it.

linelinelinelineline

They landed with grace in the Strifes' guest room.

THUMP

"Ugh."

"Ow!"

" That wasn't so bad."

"Cloud, you're crashing my spleen!"

"Get off me, both of you!"

What a nice sight they must have made for Mrs. Strife when she barged in, alarmed by the noise.

linelinelinelineline

After reassuring Mrs. Strife that yes, they were okay and no, Vincent wasn't crashed, they were ready to leave. If the fiasco in the guest room was a sight, then the three of them walking out of the Strifes' home was a riot. People gasped, whispered, paused and most of all, stared. With practiced speed, the witch took out the trunk, unshrunk it, fastened it to her side, summoned her broom from the depths of it _and_ mounted it, all in a couple of steps and while holding Cloud.

While Cloud was making himself comfortable she cast warming charms on all of them and turned to Chaos's vessel " We are going from air due to the better view. See if you can spot her from the ground.

"Hn."

With single minded determination they set of in a cloud of dust and a flash of red.

linelinelinelineline

If going up the mountain the first time was hard – and between avoiding monsters and trying to keep up with the _speed junkie_ of a witch, it _was_ \- then going up it again while searching every nook and cranny was a nightmare. 'Hmm, is that a rock or a child sized body curled up and covered in snow?'

Yeah. Nightmare.

Even with Bella and Cloud taking point and scouting out possible spots, the thick snow and shadows were making finding the girl very difficult. On top of that, nature decided to give them the finger because it was snowing so hard that they could barely see in front of them.

Taking a look up in the air Vincent paused wondering if he lost the speeding duo _again_ because he couldn't see them anywhere.

At the same time, said duo were standing still with the clouds under them, with Bella attempting to scry for the Mayor's daughter. As good as _'Point me'_ s were they pointed in a straight line, not taking into account the dead ends.

And firing _bombarda's_ up on a mountain was a big no-no, so scrying wand attachment, even if it picked up _everything_ … Oh wait! She had forgotten _every_ _single_ _one_ of them behind! Well done Belladona! Why do you go selectively stupid and stop functioning when the adrenaline hit?

"Why didn't we do this in the first place?" Cloud asked the very logical question.

"Because I'm a bloody idiot that forgot that I could. And I should have done it back in the tent cause with the whole Nibleheim under a storm cloud I'm not getting clear imagery. Neither am I now with the storm under me for that matter." She lamented in frustration.

"Don't you have a wand head for that? You have for a bunch of them for other things." The last part was murmur and Bella pretended not to hear it.

"Yes, as a matter of fact. But it is too low graded and only detects magical energy. If I used it up here, we would be stumbling on every single monster before we find the little girl. Also I left it at home." Still _a_ direction would have been better that no direction. "Speaking of, doesn't she has a name?" It dawned on Bella that they didn't know the little girl's name.

"Her names Tifa. Tifa Lockhart…are you okay?" Cloud asked concerned when he noticed her going still with a horrified look of disgust.

She visibly shook and slowly lowered her head, her bangs covering her face. Bella took a deep breath, lifted her head up, eyes closed and run her hand down her face. And suddenly, the most deadpan expression anyone could ever make came on her face and she said, with the most monotone voice he had ever heard from her: "I guess it's the name."

"Eh?"

"Nothing dear." She said absently, eyes blank and glassy, fixated on the scrying bowl. "I think she's heading towards a bridge…" she added with a note of uncertainty, tilting the scrying bowl a bit to the side and squinting, as if that would help clear out whatever it was she was seeing.

Cloud wasn't paying attention anymore. The moment the word 'bridge' was heard, it was his own turn to go still with terror. He remembered hearing about that bridge. The only way across the chasm in the Mount Nibel Caves and thus only way up the damn thing. The very old, very rickety bridge. A Nibel Wolf territory.

Belatedly he realized that he had spaced out, after Bella had given up snapping her fingers in front of his face and was full on shaking him, albeit with a firm hold on him so that he wouldn't fall of the broom to his doom. "I know where she is going. And we need to hurry!"

She nodded and then proceeded to lead the broom into an almost _vertical_ dive, back beneath the clouds in search of Vincent. Water droplets clubg to their skin and hair and the statix electricity stung their exposed skin and singed the edges of their clothes, for just the briefest of seconds.

Vincent nearly had a heart attack when he saw them plummeting to the ground only to stop a few feet before the hard, ice covered rock.

"Where were you? I though I had fallen behind." He didn't bother to hide the agitation in his voice.

"Up beyond the clouds. I was trying to scry without so much interfaces. We have a destination." She explained shortly.

"Where?" Finally.

"The bridge." She stated shortly and sped off. Vincent swore inwardly. That place was crawling with monsterss! What was a little girl doing there? If the father or Bella weren't having _words_ with this girl by the end of it, then he was certainly going to.

Now with a place in mind and Cloud filling the gaps in Vincent's memory about the directions – it had been some time since the last time he had been here on a mission – the were able to reach the ravine very quickly. And for once that day, luck seemed to be by their side when they caught a glimpse of black hair disappearing behind a rock.

Indeed there the Mayor's daughter was, a tiny, shivering little girl, heading determingly towards the rickety, old bridge.

"TIFA!" Cloud's yell startled the girl into a stop, only one step on the bridge.

And of course, that's when Lady Luck said: "Fuck This." And decided to throw a pack of Nibel Wolves at them. And of course, Tifa runs in panic across the bridge rocking the entire thing, and of course two wolves decide to chase her across the damn thing.

What happened next was no real surprise. The old ropes, unable to withstand the strain of a girl and two fully grown monster wolves running full speed on the death trap of a bridge, break, and the whole thing goes swinging down the ravine, all three of the occupants going down with it.

What came after that though _was_ kind of a surprise. Vincent knew that Bella was a speed junkie with all the equipment needed to feed her addiction. What he didn't know was just how fast she could go on that polished piece of wood. All he could remember was a sudden gust of wind and then she was no longer two meters away from him. She was nowhere in his sight for that matter.

And then, he noticed that there was no screaming. He had the urge to run towards the edge but he was broken out of it when the remaining pack of wolves attacked. Or tried to. He was able to shoot the first one and was about to go for another one when his kill was flung to a wall by a bright red flash of light, from the direction of the ravine.

So that's where she was. And Gaia, was she scary!

Her hair and clothes were whipping around in the strong wind and one hand was clutching the, now, two kids, who were doing the same just as hard, and the other was extended forward. The serene expression on her face did nothing to hide her displeasure.

"While normally I am more composed than this, let's just say that today isn't a good day." She said in false cheer. "And let me tell you little girl, if I didn't understand your feelings as much as I do, then I would make sure you regretted this stupidity." She addressed the Mayor's daughter, who had finally started to understand the weight of the situation. But try as she might, she could not stay mad at the incredibly cute child. "Now, how about we get you home?" she continued more gently. Tifa nodded timidly, darkened crimson pools tearfully looking up at her.

The battle that followed was short and brutal, even when more monsters showed up, Cloud and Vincent identified them as Sonic Speed's, Bella couldn't really care less.

The last kill went to Cloud actually, who shot the last wolf with a shard of ice. "Good job dear, your aim has gotten so much better! Think you could handle a **Fire** materia next?" Bella said with pride.

"It wasn't that special." The blonde blushed.

"Actually your control of the spell was quite impressive for someone your age." Vincent complimented the boy.

Cloud said nothing, too busy blushing and looking at the ground. He didn't protest when Bella ruffled his hair, too used to it by now. Tifa giggled.

"Okay, now that this is over with, let's get back before anything else tries to eat our face off." Bella joked.

Oh, no. Why did she have to say that?

A roar was heard and they all paused. "Did you have to say that?"

Thank you Cloud!

Slowly, through the fog and snow, a figure becomes visible. A big, red, winged figure.

"Fuck!"

"Yay! And do not swear in front of the kids Vincent."

"What do you mean 'Yay'? That's a dragon." Cloud said with a sweatdrop and suddenly he had an epiphany. "Oh, you never actually found a dragon the last time, huh?" he said while trying to calm a hyperventilating Tifa. When he looked up at her though, he felt a chill down his spine. Her eyes were shining in excitement and a wide smile, showing way too many teeth was spreading on her face.

One moment he was airborne and the next he was thrown at Vincent's hands along with Tifa.

Bella took off with laugh towards the dragon that hadn't noticed her yet. It noticed her pretty quickly though and sent a torrent of flames towards her. She avoided it with a cackling laugh and proceeded to send spell after spell at the giant lizard, that when connected, exploded in a magnificent light show.

The dragon retreated a bit back with a roar and seemed to study her. It seemed that it was considering it's next move but unfortunately had given the witch adequate time to prepare her next volley. Quite literally. The moment the dragon had started retreating she had raised her hand and started chanting in an unknown language. In the time it took for the dragon to attack again, tons of colorful energy bullets lit up the sky and went hurdling towards the beast, the speed of the bullets causing leaving behind colorful trails of light.

The dragon tried to avoid the barrage by flying out of the way, but the witch was able to control the path of the bullets, causing them to home in on the creature that let out another screech of pain. It was looking a bit charred by now while the witch was pristine and laughing like a psycho.

"She seems to be having fun." the little girl stated tremulously.

"Too much." Cloud said "I'm starting to pity the dragon."

"Did she mention why she wanted to do…this?" Vincent asked with a sigh.

"No. I'll ask later."

At that moment the dragon tried to swat her out of the air, which she avoided gracefully, and then breathed a powerful torrent of flames, which she wasn't able to dodge. Instead, Bella created a barrier and under the cover of the thick flames and smoke prepared for a counterattack. When the fire died down she extinguished the rest with a pulse of magic and raised her hand. She was a vision of power, hair flying wildly and form illuminated by magic and the few remaining sparks. She readied to unleash her attack.

Only there was nothing there.

Nothing. Nada. Zip.

"Fly Dragon! Fly for you life!"

"Cloud!" Bella whined in protest. She shot a glare at Tifa and Vincent. Tifa because she was giggling openly and Vincent because even though he wasn't being obvious about it, the slight twitch of his shoulders was all the evidence needed.

"Don't whine, it's unbecoming. And if I was pitying the poor creature."

"Meanie!"

"Come on, let's get out of here and save the poor monsters of the Mountain from another encounter."

"You're being mean too Vince!"

linelinelinelineline

All good mood vanished the moment they reached the village. It seems the Mayor noticed his daughter's absence and had gathered people to go, apparently, up the mountain. Weird, as if he expected her to be there. And considering the fact that Cloud had come to her immediately and the search had taken about a day, they couldn't have searched the forest already, especially since it was more of a maze than the mountain.

Bella's stupidity radar was getting signals. So she got prepared to get pissed. Sadly she wasn't disappointed.

The moment the Mayor saw them he started bellowing at the top of his lungs.

''You! Unhand my daughter right now you monster!'' Vincent, who was still holding the kids, raised an unimpressed eyebrow. Nevertheless he let them down and The dark haired child proceeded to run towards her father.

''What were you doing with my daughter in the Mountain, you freaks?'' he was still bellowing and still failing in being intimidating.

Bella raised an eyebrow and answered. ''Are you daft? We went there to _save_ your daughter. Furthermore, practically the whole village saw us leave to the mountain without her. How could we have taken her up there?'' she said slowly as if talking to a mentally disabled person.

''Don't get smart with me, witch, I've seen what you can do. Gaia knows how you spirited my little girl up there!'' he shouted at her, though he was getting unnerved, being in the recieving end of their bland stares.

''But father, I went there by myself becausd I wanted to see mom! Everyone said she was away!'' Tifa tried to defend them. The Mayor did falter but not for long.

''Be quiet sweety, you are just confused.'' he said patronisingly.

''Wait, what? You couldn't even explain something like that to your own child?'' Bella exclaimed flabbergasted.

''How I raise my child is none of your business, witch.'' he tried to change the subject.

''That isn't exactly a insult you know.'' she answered in a patronizing tone hershelf, only it had a much stronger effect coming from her. ''And while I don't really have any say in how you raise your child, we did just go to the mountains because Cloud was worried about her and we did bring her back safe and sound. I wasn't expecting a warm welcome, but I should hope for a measure of gratitude. We _did_ just do your job for you.'' she leaned forward, eyes half lidded and a hand cradling her cheek. Her lips twisted into an almost twisted, smug grin. ''Except of course, if you are telling me that your pride is more important than your daughter's life. A daughter whose life wouldn't have been compromised if you hadn't utterly failed to fulfill your duty to her.'' she finished almost in a purr.

Ouch! That must have hurt!

The Mayor was red and sputtering in rage. Bella straightened up, yawned and said: ''Whatever. Trying to make sense of your stupidity is breaking my brain and that encounter with the dragon killed all my good mood. We'll be heading home now.'' she dismissed him with a wave of her hand.

But before they could go back to the Strifes' home they were stopped by the villagers brandishing weapons at them. While Vincent and Cloud tensed and Tifa gasped Bella remained blank and emotionless. A cold fury was quickly taking over and she had to do everything in her power to hold on to it. But in the same time she was feeling remorseful. Somewhere deep inside her a voice was telling her that this was her fault, for she knew what was coming next. These people were practically a village of Dursleys. But these people had no reason not to act according to their fear and insecurity.

It seemed that her companions had come to the same conclusion.

Their eyes met and Vincent picked up Cloud and disappeared in a red blur.

The alarmed villagers went to follow them but Bella didn't let them get farther than two steps away. A shimmering barrier had come into existence on their way.

She spoke calmly and with an authoritative tone, her power rising steadily with every word. Unknown to her, the sadows grew darker and the darkness more oppressive and a dark, red eyed figure had manifested behind her.

''Look, today is not a good day. And the last thing I wana deal with is backwater redneck trash. None of us have done anything to you yet you are so quick to condemn us for some imaginary slight. If you are expecting retaliation then don't get your hopes up, we are not trash."

By the end of her speech the weight of the power had gotten too much for the villagers. They lay in varius states of dissaray in front of her, some passed out, other leaning heavily on their weapons or fellows. Well, everyone except Tifa. She wasn't that cruel.

At that moment Vincent arrived with Cloud and his mother and the pressure and dark apparition disappeared. Bella took her eyes away from the pathetic wastes of space to look at Cloud's mother. The poor woman was so disoriented and something inside the witch withered. She gave the woman a remorseful look and she got a defeated one in return.

''I see.'' she said ''So it has finally come to this.''

''Finally?''

''Things have been more... hostile.'' she said sadly.

Bella gave a sigh.

''I am sorry about this.'' The witch was feeling miserable.

''It is okay. It is not your fault. I was expecting something like this to happen sooner or later.'' Mrs. Strife smiled reassuringly at her. ''We're ready to go.''

Bella reciprocated the smile shakily and extended her hand. ''Then hold on to me.''

Suddenly, the darkness wasn't so deep anymore.

linelinelinelineline

The apparation was not kind to anyone. The tiredness of the rescue and emotional exhaustion had along with the distance made the already unholy squeezing and twisting ten times worse and had them all weezing on the floor.

Except Vincent. He was more dignified about it.

''I'm sorry. It is my fault that you were cast out.'' Bella didn't care that she sounded like a dying animal gasping for breath. She couldn't say it enough.

''Didn't I tell you it was not your fault? The villagers never liked us. Too unusual for them.'' Mrs. Strife sounded less winded but her breaths were deeper and a bit desperate. Probably why she didn't make an effort to get up yet.

''Mom's correct. They were just looking for a reason to kick us out. You just happened to be there and be seen.'' Cloud added. ''I'm tired, where are we sleeping?''

Bella shot the blonde a _look._ Cloud raised an eybrow at her.

''You know where the guest rooms are. Or do you prefer the trunk? The inside's practically a mansion as well.'' She said, finally deciding to get up.

''Trunk?'' the other eyebrow joined the raised one.

''One the second floor eastern corridor, the door to the far end, leads to the living space in my trunk. Much bigger than the tent.''

Everyone just looked at her, wide eyed.

''What?'' she asked while still struggling to get up. Which she failed, her legs seemed to be having a strike. 'Forget it.' ''Help!'' she souted in defeat.

''Wait, where are we?'' Mrs. Strife asked.

''Cosmo Canyon. In her'' Vincent pointed at the spread eagle laying witch '' «tent».'' He walked towards said witch to help her up.

''This can't be a tent.'' The woman said blankly. Well, now they knew where Cloud got that from.

''It is a magically enhanced space. The correct term would be 'undetectably extended' meaning that the inside is enlarged without that being seen from the outside.'' Since her legs really weren't working anymore Vincent just gave up on helping her stand and just hoisted her up bridal style. Bella was too tired to protest.

'' Bu-but how? I don't see any – I never heard of materia that could do that!" Mrs. Strife tried to reason.

''Don't worry mom, you get used to it.'' Cloud walked to his mother to help her up and proceded to drag the sputtering woman to the guest rooms.

Bella gave a breathless laugh.

''What's wrong with you?'' Vincent took her to one of the long couches in the living room.

''Just overused my magic is all." Bella answered neutraly.

Vincent looked at her unimpressed. "I've seen your magic before. While indeed excessive, I've seen you use more that that." He pressed as he lowered her to the seat. "Surely today's usage doesn't warrant this." He gestured towards her unresponsive legs. As id to prove his point further, the transfiguration failed, turning her nightgown to its original form.

Bella gave a defeated sigh. "I haven't been sleeping well lately." She started lowly, hand grasping weakly at the fabric on her lap. Vincent nodded. He gave her a nod to continue talking as he moved toward the kitchen, presumably to get her something to eat or drink. "The insomnia keeps me up most of the times and the nightmares have me waking up more tired than when I fell asleep. On average I sleep semi well about 10% of the time but still it's not truly a restful one. That's why today is not a good day. I had a particularly bad nightmare. And when I am awake, I am reminded of Hojo's and Hollander's depravity by every word I read when I do research. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to stop, but it gets to me." She leaned forward, elbows digging into her numb thighs and palms resting on her eyes.

A hand on her shoudier made her turn her head to the right where Vincent was with a cup of steaming hot tea. She took the cup gingerly and graciously. She remembered of their time together in the start when he couldn't even be in the same room as her. She didn't begrudge him that. She had read about his demons and could imagine what their instinct was doing to him.

"Is there some way to get better?" his question broke her out of her thoughts. She snorted. As if. "Nope. Nothing. What I do is exhaust myself and then collapse for a couple of days. That way I am too tired to dream and I wake up refreshed." She said derisively.

"That can't be healthy." Vincent was looking at her in slight horror.

"Meh. It's been going for three years now, almost four. I've tried to get help but everyone I go to tells me to give it time, find something to occupy my mind. Which works. My job back home allows me to occupy my mind and work off any frustrations. Thing is that here, what I do, reminds me of what I went through to make me like this. And today, on top of the nightmare and the experiments, I was reminded of my past by the villagers as well, who reminded me of my bigoted family who hated me for the same reason the villagers hated Cloud and his mother. Today is truly not a good day." She took a deep breath at the end and a sip of her tea.

"What I mean to say is that while the circumstances are not ideal, this isn't any different from what happens back home. I'll get over it. Thank you for making me tea, it's quite delicious." She directed a tired but sincere smile at him in the end.

Vincent didn't really know how to react. Human interaction was never his forte. The young woman in front of did not deserve this and there were so many things he could, and wanted, to say. But it didn't feel right. So he did what he could do best. Stayed silently by her side providing silent support and Bella smiled at him again, this time in gratitude.

They stayed there until she finished her tea, where he picked her up again, causing a startled giggle from the witch, who also proceeded to swoon teasingly, and took her to her room.

The vessel of Chaos did not sleep well that night.

linelinelinelineline

Despite Vincent's hopes, Bella didn't either.

 _Wake up, freak!_

 _You should never have been born!_

 _You are so useless!_

 _It's for your own good, Bella._

 _Why are you so useless?!_

 _You are crazy, both of you! That's it, I'm done!_

 _Come to die._

 _Why did you live while we died?_

… **.um…Hi!**

 **So, I'm later than I wanted but….you know what, there is no but. Writer's block is a bitch.**

 **I hope this didn't come out to be too angsty but I couldn't lessen it any more and I wanted to put some character development and interaction 'on screen' rather that mentions of it in the exposition and narration. I hope you like it. If you notice any mistakes and inconsistencies please mention them to me, it helps me get better.**

 **Also, don't jump to conclusions this is not the pairing! In all honesty I don't know what to do with that. Why don't you tell me which pairings you want and I'll what works** **!**

 **Thank you all for your reviews, reading them makes my day!**

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter, have a nice day and happy Halloween!**

 **~Sil.**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Things were a tad bit awkward the morning after the incident. Mostly because the resident witch was still feeling very much guilty about it. Had Vincent not had the previous night's conversation with her he would have been frustrated. Unfortunately, Mrs. Strife hadn't had that insight. Thankfully her feelings were firmly on the fond exasperation side.

Also, had Vincent not had the previous night's conversation with her, he wouldn't have been so alarmed at the obvious dark circles under Bella's eyes.

The point is that the atmosphere was steadily getting agitated and no one was ready to sacrifice themselves to _that_ beast.

Thank The Cetra for Cloud.

The moment Cloud saw the tired look on the witch's eyes when she delivered the breakfast to the table, he took a firm hold of the tray he was holding, passed it to Vincent, who readily took over putting the food to the table, and dragged her to the couch.

At first they thought he was going to tell her to sleep but instead he handed her a controller and put on a game. What better way to wake up than a first person shooter that demands acute reflexes, in his words. And all objections were quelled when he leveled her with an extra devastating version of the 'puppy eyes'.

When she was fully engrossed the tension dissipated and they all breathed a sigh of relief.

"Good job kid." Vincent patted the blonde's fluffy head. "Quick thinking. How did you know it was going to work?"

The boy dragged a hand down his face as he sat down on the table and gave a sigh, looking the most bedraggled he could ever be. "This has happened before, a couple of times when you were still staying in the Shinra Mansion. Since she has insomnia, and I know that half the reason for it are very bad nightmares, telling her to sleep is a no-no. The best you can do in this situation is try to wake her up as much as you can. She'll chug potions after and be back to a 100-ish%. She's mostly feeling guilty this time so it's better than the usual." Cloud explained, recalling the 'hit and miss' s. Sirius for some reason found it very funny that tea didn't work in these situations.

"I can understand why she would be guilty, but it's not her fault. It's like she's expecting me to start accusing her." The kind hearted woman looked upset at the mere though.

"She's not used to nice people." Cloud said crossly, surprising the other two on the table.

"So she's told you too...What do you know? My knowledge is quite spotty." Vincent grasped at the chance to learn more about the mysterious witch.

"...Did she tell you anything about her people?" he said hesitantly.

Mrs. Strife made a sound, confusion painting her face.

"Don't worry mom, I'll explain later." He reassured her when he saw her confusion. He belatedly realized how out of depth the woman was. While his mother all but loved the quirky witch he was the one that spent the most time with Bella.

Maybe he shouldn't be talking about this in front of her. The last thing Bella wanted was pity.

"I was briefly told about her school years and about the war, the last one with more detail. Though in this case the more details I heard the less I wanted to hear." Vincent's confession broke him out of his thoughts. None of them liked the direction this was going.

"Did she tell you about the aftermath?" the chocobo ventured tentative.

Oh, this wasn't going to be good.

"She gave me a general picture of the war, that she was a fugitive as the opposing factor took control of the government and that she couldn't bare to be there anymore after all of it. She finishing her education in a completely different school in a completely different community. Then left at the first chance she got. She really couldn't keep going on with details after, what with the hours of explaining her school years and then the war straight after." Vincent answered in contemplative tone.

Cloud sighed. "I don't know much more eirher. I know that after she practically won the the war she distanced herself from the public to let herself grieve in piece. But the public wouldn't let her alone. They tried to force her to do something she didn't want." Cloud took a breath, clenching his small hands. "In the end she had a falling out with some of the last of the friends she had left, so she...left." His sadness and frustration were almost palpable and Vincent wasn't any better. Mrs. Strife on the other hand was looking down silently because even if she didn't know everything she could sense the injustice.

"I see…" Vincent exhaled harshly. He would have to…schedule…some time for…training. Yeah. "You are close." He said trying to direct the conversation to something safer.

Cloud blushed a bit but a smile seeped through still. "I guess. I suppose that we mutually care for each other." He said very seriously.

A giggle came from his mother "Aw, little Cloud is embarrassed to say he loves his big sister!" she teased him. Vincent chuckled at the outraged cry of "MOM!".

They were interrupted by the sound of a door banging open. "I'm back!" the jovial figure of Sirius waltzed through the door of the dining room. He paused when he saw Cloud's mother and smiled charmingly. "Oh, Mrs. Strife to what do I owe the pleasure?" Sirius stepped around the table, gently took her hand and kissed the knuckles.

Her free hand flew to her mouth and she blushed. "W-Well you are a charmer aren't you. How do you know my name, sir?" for just a second the air got heavy, only for the sensation to be gone the next. Still the unexplainable fear refused to fade. "I don't think we've met before." She replied in an equally flirty manner. That combination was...terrifying. She looked at the saggy haired man with tinkling blue eyes in the old fashioned suit. Yeah, she was sure she hadn't seen him before.

Sirius gave a rougish grin and stood to his full height. "Indeed, we have never conversed before but we have been in each other's presence. I am Sirius Black and I am the dog that Bella can be seen having around."

Mrs. Strife's eyes widened as she remembered the big, black but friendly dog that had brought Cloud back home when he had fallen asleep after spending the night with Bella in the Mansion. She had been rather alarmed at the sight of the dog in her front door, carrying her sleeping son on its back. How it had managed to remain unnoticed by the villagers she would never know. When later asked, Cloud told her that it was the witch's dog.

She turned to said blonde was steadily avoiding looking at her direction and then turned back to the dark clothed man. "Were you that black dog then? You look good for such a scary dog." She joked.

"Why thank you my fair lady, but I have to be scary if I am to keep my precious goddaughter safe" he said proudly.

"I don't think she needs protection." Vincent deadpanned, making the animagus sputter.

"I can try, can't I?" he cried in comical desperation. "She's still my little prongslet!" he sobbed, making Mrs. Strife giggle.

"That's so sweet. I wish my little boy will let me be around him like that when he's older too" Mrs. Strife voiced dreamily.

"How lucky you are, your kid is still young. Mine grew up to fast!" Sirius was lamenting as if it was some great injustice. There was a double meaning there that no one was particularly eager to broach.

Cloud was determined to ignore all proceedings around him, refusing to look in their direction. Vincent on the other hand was laughing silently watching the spectacle. His silence was fooling no-one , since his shoulders were shaking pretty badly and Cloud's scathing glare was not helping. Especialy since said 'scathing glare' made him look like an agitated kitten.

Fortunately for the spicky haired blonde, Sirius's rumblings were interupted by the object of said rumblings.

Out pf nowhere Bella was standind half a step behing her godfather, one hand raised in the air having just delivered a slap on the back of his haid with a loud crack. Of course, the headslap being as painful as it sounded, had the man instantly grabbing the back of his head with a pained "OW".

Sirius shot her a kicked puppy look but she just stared at him blankly. "What?"

"...Nothing." he averted his eyes dejected, mumbling things about killjoys.

The now much more awake witch, took a seat next to Cloud on the table and poured herself a cup of tea and filled her plare with some toast and fried eggs, which she cuton top of some rice. On a small bowl she cut with magic an apple into slices.

"So, Sirius." She prompted him.

"Yes." he straightened up immediately. "After examining the files you found on Deepground, I started asking around my colleagues starting with Midgard. I cross-referenced the names with them and then I had Andrew dig up some hospital files when I noticed a pattern. Most of the 'entries' are infantrymen that were admitted in the hospital during the war. It wasn't even that well covered up!" his voice raised in anger. "Apparently there was such a great number of people recruited that it made up for the many, _many_ disappearances." He motioned sideways with his hand in exasperation. " There was also a small amount of First's but those ones were far better covered up. Priorities, I suppose. Still, here are the death certificates of everyone they 'disappeared'." he snapped his fingers and a pile of folders fell in front of her. She looked like she wanted to be literally anywhere else. She picked the one on the top, leafing through it as she motioned for her godfather to continue.

"Then there is a large number of civilians 'admitted' into the project but these instances are far more spread out, surprisingly. Some of the people in Collection found the labs though at some point. The funny thing is that for some unexplained reason, it took too long. And even now that it's been found, Collection has trouble collecting. It's saturated by _something,_ the whole place, like it's warded, but there is no such thing _here_. Since then it's the practically most hated shift to be assigned to, in no small amount due to the fact that the relieving shift has trouble _relieving the shift prior._ I don't blame them, I am not kidding, we have a regular code, corresponding to, _we-lost-people-again,guess-where_. So much overtime." Sirius sighed. "With how many people that place goes through, it's a wonder how nobody's noticed anything." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Can't we just kill him?" he whined at the end.

"If by 'him' you mean Hojo, then unfortunately no. Not yet at least." Bella, was listening, still reading files, as she now was on the third one. She took a sip of her tea, wetting her lips. The tremor in the hand clutching the cup gave away her suppressed fury."Her's the what I see here, there's a considerable backlog from this one "project" alone. We release all this immediately and something's gonna snap." She put down her cup, the porcelain clinking to emphasize the word "snap".

"Hojo doesn't have _normal_ people in this. He dies, they aren't going to stop. You need a special kind of psycho to inject people with _full of regrets liquified souls of unrested spirits._ And we have a whole lot of this kind of psycho here." she pointed out.

"So we need to gut all of the ones involved. Any ideas?" Sirius nibbled at a piece of toast, unaware of their _horrified_ audience.

"Make the salvageable deceased into personal Reapers to help with the collection and then release them too into the Lifestream? It's not the best idea but, it has some logic into it, considering how horrendous the understaffing is. That is of course if they agree. If not, then we do it slowly with as many people as we can spare so we don't overload the Lifestream's current capacity." she shrugged. "It's a work in progress. Feel free to contribute to the drawing board."

"How soon do you think?"

She grimaced "I asked your previous boss, and Fate is already bitching about the damage I've done so far. Better hold back on the world shaking, timeline breaking actions, for now. And there's emphasis on that part." A sadistic smile spread across her lips. "Don't you worry, once we finish with Shin-ra's "Holy Triad" the fun will be finally able to begin." She chuckled darkly, sending shivers down everyone's spines.

Sirius grinned wryly. "I didn't expect to see the sadism associated with the Blacks surface in you." Still, you could hear the pride he had for his godchild.

"You said it yourself, all British pureblood families are related to each other. I did a bit of research after I became the head of the family. Turns out that an ancestor of my mother's was a Black scuib." Bella explained nonchalantly, taking a bite of toast.

The Gaians were left to wonder what the two anomalies were talking about, even more when the animagus' jaw dropped and he exploded in a surprised "Shut up!"

The witch was having too much fun with the conversation. "Ah-huh."

"Maaaan! This explains so much! I quite vividly remember your mother being scary creative when she was pissed." He laughed heartily. "The funniest thing was watching James walking on eggshells all the time, scared shitless of the mere thought of incurring her wrath." he recalled fondly, looking down on the table.

Both of them stayed silent, offering a moment of silence for the dearly departed. The other occupants continued eating awkwardly but recognizing that the two people were having an important moment.

Finally, the heavy atmosphere was dissipated by the resident witch. "Can I see the files you mentioned. There may be something of importance to send to Genesis. They will probably want to know about it."

"I'll give a call to Andrew. You'll probably get them by the end of the day."

"Wonderful. After this I'll have to call Sei-chan to get more material to study. And since without any new material I've hit a slump, it seems that today is going to be a free day." She clapped her hands in fake cheerfulness. "Cloud, wanna play with me after training? I was thinking of introducing you to one of my favorite video game."

The boy smiled happily and responded positively. "Perfect. I think we can start on some new materia today."

linelinelinelineline

Mrs. Strife considered herself a normal housewife with the normal life. That was until yesterday that is. Then her son came home running, telling here to pack up their things because it was time to go. To tell the truth she wasn't surprised to see all the villagers in such an agitated state. She was kind of expecting it. And now here she was, a great deal away from home but somehow far better. There were some things that would take some getting used to though.

Like the tent

And the magic.

And the backstory.

Still though, when she was thinking it over for the umpteenth time this day, she couldn't find one regret over the events that had occurred. And she was mighty proud, watching her son train in hand to hand combat and magic by the instigator of this wondrous change.

And speaking of the instigator, she still couldn't grasp the entirety of her past but it brought tears to her eyes. No matter. The past is the past, and Mrs. Strife would do her best to make the kind witch's future as happy as possible.

Linelinelinelineline

Vincent returned to the tent a littld bit after lunch looking a bit scratched up but overall satisfied. The others had already finished so he headed towards the kitchen for some leftovers.

He found a thick white soup with choped carrots that smelled rather heavenly and after serving himself, probably more than necessary, he headed for the coffe machine. Having fixed his coffee and ready to eat he sat on the table, were he decimated his meal. Then he picked up his coffee and leisurely headed to the living room.

And paused.

The entire room's interior had changed since the morning. Up against the wall, another TV was set up next to the one already there. The big comfy couch was moved directly in front of the two screens and had exiled the dining table to the end of the room simply to make room for the couch.

The couch that was currently occupied by the witch and her protégé.

Both intently focused on the screen and furiously punching the buttons of their controllers.

Hmm…looking at Bella's screen, the character was dressed identically like her, down to the antique gun. The only difference was the scythe that the on screen character was toting around…wait…

"What is this?" he asked taking a sip of his coffee.

"My favorite game" she replied easily, not taking her eyes of the screen. A croaking sound from the screen signified the death of a hulking, humanoid creature.

"Favorite enough that you copied the clothes." He drawled.

"Um" she nodded happily. He looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Don't bother. Wait for her to die or get to a lantern." Sirius's voice sounded from the side. There the saggy haired man was sprawled in an armchair, breathing heavily. Weird.

"I'm guessing they had you move the furniture?"

"Yep. After training Bella said that she was low on magic. And since she hadn't been sleeping well, her reserves aren't as full as they usually are." He explained tiredly.

"Why didn't you use magic?"

"She insisted that I needed the workout."

"Fuck!" the exasperated yelp accompanied by a female scream of pain had them turning towards the witch who was running a hand down her face. The screen was now darkened, red letters proclaiming "YOU DIED" before the screen faded to black, the game logo now plastered in the center.

"I'm glad to see you are having fun." Vincent addressed her genuinely.

The witch turned to him with a relaxed smile and stretched. She sighed when a few pops sounded over the sound of the other screen. "Yeah, it feels good."

"Though I am not sure if Mrs. Strife will be fine with her son playing something so gorey." he gave a pointed look towards Cloud's screen were the character shoved a hand into a creature's chest and pulled it out in a shower of digital blood.

Bella giggled. "Well, considering that the monsters here bleed too and Cloud's killed several, she wasn't too against it. He'll see most of it in the future with his chosen career either way. Especially when I told him that if he liked the game he could pick his favorite weapons from there for me to teach him and he leveled his puppy eyes at her." She gave him a shit eating grin.

"Your character is carrying a scythe and unless you've taken liking to obsession…you have, haven't you?" he was suddenly very glad this woman wasn't his enemy.

She laughed cheerfully. "Not that much! I know how to use a carved greatsword because it's a part of my scythe, my scythe, of course and you've seen me use my gun. That's it. Oh, and a regular sword, but I'm not that good. Oh, and throwing knives. I'm not that addicted."

Not that addicted she says!

"You can use a scythe. And a sword. And knives." Why did he keep getting surprised? because really, after half the things he's seen, he really shouldn't be. "Why haven't you used any of them yet?" he was really curious.

"My scythe is my favorite weapon, so I've been saving it for special occasions. And really nothing so far has forced me to go serious to use the rest." she shrugged.

Yeah, really happy she wasn't an enemy.

"Yoohoo! Finally! You dead!" the nine year old had thrown his hands up in the air in celebration, his character doing the same, or was it the other way around?

If the little boy came out half as capable as the witch then he was going to be First Class in record time.

"Don't celebrate too much. That was only an optional boss." Said witch told the little boy monotonously.

"What? The thing killed me at least ten times and you're telling me I didn't have to even fight it?" he looked at her incredulous and outraged.

"Better keep the complaints for the later ones. You've seen nothing yet. That ones is considered by the community as a tutorial boss ." She patted his shoulder. "But since you've killed it, go back to spend your echoes. I'll help you distribute them depending on the build you want. Then we're trying the multiplayer." She put her controller down and scooted closer to him on the couch. "Before we do anything though, have you decided what weapon you gonna start with, and I don't mean the game." She inquired.

"Well…" he hesitated and she gave him an encouraging smile. "After watching you play for a bit I decided that I wanted something with good reach, so I went with the cane…whip…thing. But…it… it just doesn't feel right." He struggled to put his thoughts into words, his eyebrows furrowing and lips pursing in an adorable pout.

"Kawai!"

*Glomp*

"Hey!"

Vincent facepalmed.

Talk resumed with the disgruntled blonde clutched on the witch's lap with a hand ruffling his hair. The blonde's expression was a mix between resignation and exasperation. "I am spoiling the game right now but in this situation it is of no major consequence. The game has other weapons too, if that's what you are looking for." She looked at him questioningly and he nodded. "Let's see how you handle the 'basic' sword and we'll see about the rest. Out of curiosity, what _does_ feel right?"

The little boy scrunched his brows in thought and after a bit he had the epiphany. "Bigger."

She giggled "There is a greatsword and another one that's a cross between a greatsword, a cleaver and the Threaded Cane." She reassured him. "In any case it would be best to know how to use a regular sword and build arm strength for the bigger thing." She advised while stretching to get her own controller. "As far as the game is concerned, my starting weapon was the Cleaver and I went for a more balanced build. I would generally suggest that you focus on endurance because the game itself kind of encourage you to spam R1's. What with how the health system works. Other that that I would advise to not dump all your points in one stat, try to keep a balance. You'll see for yourself when you find something you're comfortable with." She cautioned while starting up her own game again.

Cloud nodded and turned back to his game.

"I do not know how this works and something tells me that I don't want to know the logic behind it…" Vincent pinched the bridge of his nose. Last time he checked, playing games did not equal as combat training.

"Yeah, don't question it. When our brand of magic is involved it is usually advised to throw all kinds of logic out the window. It helps prevent migraines." Sirius advised with a supportive hand on the other man's shoulder.

The vessel of Chaos just sighed.

linelinelinelineline

The halls of the First Class quarters were silent. It was no real surprise though, considering that it wasn't even a month that the war of Wutai was declared over and Shin-ra victorious. Well, for now. So, most of the SOLDIERs were on leave and the few remaining Firsts weren't an exception. Well the few remaining Firsts excluding Zack Fair. He was too worried about Angeal to leave.

What the problem was? After the reveal of their origins Angeal had retreated back to himself and was pushing everyone away. He had taken it pretty hard and the honorable man's conscious had taken a hit. They couldn't really blame him, he thought he was fighting for a just cause, that he was helping.

And of course Angeal wasn't admitting anything. Of course. Really, watching the puppy run behind his mentor, desperately trying to help get said mentor out of his self-imposed _funk_ was tragic. What made it even more tragic was that it wasn't only Zack. No, both Genesis and Sephiroth were tripping over themselves searching for a way to help their friend.

Currently, General Sephiroth was in his office dealing with paperwork. Or trying to. The more he read he felt his brain cells dying. The bureaucrats at Shin-ra were truly incompetent. It's been about a week since the blackout and instead of working on retrieving the documents that were still missing, board meetings had degraded into pathetic power plays and political struggles. Power plays and political struggles that he, as General had to deal with. Angeal and Genesis were lucky they were Commanders.

He had a feeling for who was responsible for the catastrophic incident and he was going to be having _words_ with her when he finally met her. No matter how ingenious it wasn't funny when it was you dealing with the fallout.

His PHS buzzed, indicating an incoming message. It was from Genesis.

- _Bella sent more files. Meet up the sooner you can._

Well, it wasn't like he wanted to deal with the paperwork. And this was more important.

Linelinelinelineline

Sephiroth entered Genesis' apartment ten minutes later with a feeling of dread that had started forming five steps before the door came into knocking distance.

He was glad to see Angeal there even if his friend looked just as anxious as he was feeling.

Strangely enough, Genesis himself wasn't there. Angeal, seeing his inquisitive look, hooked a thumb towards the kitchen. "The files came via owl and it isn't relinquishing the package without payment."

He raised an eyebrow and his friend held his arms up in the universal motion for surrender. "The bird has some wicked claws and is obnoxiously fast, even with its burden."

"You have no idea. _"_ _My friend, the fates are cruel."_ " Genesis came out of the kitchen looking very irritated with a plate of bacon in one hand and the apparent package in the other. The source of his aggravation was perched imperiously on his shoulder. On one leg. With the one on the outside holding the package as far away as possible from the rather aggravated man.

"Come on, have a seat." He motioned to the couches as he set his burdens on the table. "Come on bird. _I offer thee this silent sacrifice,_ get off me." He snapped at the smug looking owl as he tore the wrapping, and took of the lid of the package.

On the top of the contents of the package was a note that Genesis read out loud.

"'This is information regarding the project in which you and Angeal Hewley originate from. I thought you ought to know.' how wonderful." Genesis sighed and started taking the files out.

And continued to do so, to his own and his friends' wonder as the contents of the box were far more numerous than what would seem possible for the box to fit.

"Okay, what gives?" Angeal grabbed the box to inspect it.

"You know, I don't _care. Infinite in mystery is the gift of the Goddess._ " Genesis leaned back on his chair, running a hand down his face. "I wish she sent booze this time too, if the files are going to be as bad as I think they're going to be." He lamented.

"Anyway." Sephiroth interjected "We should start reading." He took the folder closest to him.

"Let's see what new, world-shattering news she has for us." Angeal gave a sigh of trepidation.

 _ **(Couple of hours later.)**_

"Just how does she keep finding this information?" Sephiroth uttered with a tone stuck between wonderment, agitation and exhaustion.

"I don't know and I don't really care. What I do know is that I am finding my despise for this company rising." Genesis ground through gritted teeth.

"Both Hojo's and Hollander's names keep popping up a lot too. It's really pathetic, considering they declared you two failures." Sephiroth added in disgust.

"Goddess, this is too much." Angeal spoke softly with both hands on his face. This was deplorable and it had been going on for a while.

So many people were suffering and he was to busy feeling sorry for himself. Learning that the reason for his existence were the ravings of a psycopathic maniac in a desperate attempt to win one over another slightly more depraved psycopathic maniac was a hit. That there was a chance for both him and his best friend to die a horrible slow death and nobody cared to _mention_ it because they were not as precious _assets_ after that point was an even bigger one. And this from the company Angeal had dedicated himself to, had risked his life fighting for. And if he, a Commander was seen with such apathy what about the SOLDIERs under him and the infantry? This proved that they weren't even considered _people._ Fuck, was _he_ even human?, Angeal was sick to his stomach. This went against everything he stood for but still, why wasn't he willing to let go? _Why?_

At that moment Angeal Hewley came to a realization.

Instantly Sephiroth and Genesis, unaware of their friend's thoughts, whirled to look at him since he looked more distraught than the both of them.

"Geal…?" Genesis uttered hesitantly. Their friend did not answer. Just sighed deeply.

A moment of heavy silence passed between them, the tension mounting. In the end Angeal raised his head, his eyes still closed and took a deep breath. Then he opened them and a look of steel settled on his face.

"I'm okay." He answered firmly. 'I'm done feeling sorry for myself.' What has happened is in the past and that is not going to change. He wasn't the only one screwed over in this.

Genesis chuckled with relief. " _There is no hate, only joy. For you are beloved by the Goddess._ Glad you are back with us. You had us worried."

"Yeah, sorry about that." He chuckled and rubbed the back of his head with one hand.

"Just know that you are not alone in this." Sephiroth spoke seriously but his lips twitched upwards in a rare smile.

" _Even_ _if_ _the_ _morrow_ _is_ _barren_ _of_ _promises_ , _nothing_ _shall_ _forestall_ _my_ _return_. All of us are in the same boat here, or similar ones at least" Genesis added in a rare show of agreement with Sephiroth. "And I realize that this conversation should have happened a week ago. Too bad we don't have the booze we had a week ago too." He joked.

"Don't even." Sephiroth cut him off quickly. "Or are you forgetting the unholy hangover that stuck with us for two days after that day?" Sephiroth surely did. It had made it impossible for him to be productive for the first day and had greatly hampered him the second.

"That's probably why she didn't send any this time. For whatever reason, she is trying to save us so it would be counterproductive if we killed ourselves via liver failure." Angeal mussed. "Speaking of failure, there was the one about communication. I should really speak with Zack. He's been working himself into a tizzy worrying about me."

"Yeah, you should do that. You are going to give the puppy white hairs." The red haired man teased, causing the Silver General to scoff, which in turned caused his friend to whirl and throw a glare his way. "Is there something you want to say Seph?"

"No, nothing Genesis. I just think that you shouldn't be speaking about worrying others into growing white hairs is all." He answered blandly.

"I have to agree Gen. I am lucky to not have grown any and Sephiroth is lucky his hair is naturally that color."

"You are both horrid!" the overdramatic Commander huffed at them.

There was a hooting sound from the forgotten side of the table, where the snowy owl was perched. Apparently it had decided to stay. And judging by the sounds it was making it was laughing at Genesis.

"Are you laughing at me, bird? Again? The ingratitude!"

linelinelinelineline

 _ **(Flashback to an hour before the files on Deepground are delivered.)**_

That evening in Cosmo Canyon things were calm. Until an iridescent portal reminiscent of a kaleidoscope opened up in the middle of the living room and dropped two five foot tall piles of books.

While the Gaians were alarmed by the side of the portal they just shrugged it off when it deposited the books and continued on to what they were previously doing when the resident witch headed towards them.

She quickly went about distributing them to smaller piles, distanced one small cluster of three thick, hardback tomes and moved the rest to an unoccupied corner. Then she picked the three she'd chosen and moved to join Cloud on the couch, who only spared her a brief glimpse before focusing back to the game on the screen. Just when she had made herself comfortable and picked up the first tome, her phone rang. Seeing the caller ID she smiled and picked up.

"Hello there Sei-chan. I just got the books. Thanks a bunch~. How's Teddy?" She spoke in a cutesy, cheery way.

" _Good_. _Your_ _godson_ _is_ _a_ _delight_ _but_ _he's_ _worried_ _for_ _his_ _Godmother_. _He was just on the phone actually. Hasn't Andromeda called yet?"_ he inquired.

"No, she hasn't, why" Bella asked worried.

Sei hummed in though. _"She said she would when I mentioned that you were fine. Have you tried contacting her?"_

"I have, but I have connectivity issues on my side, for some reason…" the Mistress of Death had an uneasy feeling. Even more so by that silence that followed.

" _I see."_ He finally responded.

"Sei?"

" _Teddy said something that alarmed me. He said that Andromeda said that he shouldn't be talking to me. It's not anything theorizing over but with how rotten_ your _luck is, I though that you should at least know."_ The curse breaker sounded resigned.

"Thanks for telling me Sei. I appreciate it." She said softly.

" _I'll_ _try talking to Kreacher, maybe he can help."_ He didn't sound too thrilled by the prospect and Bella could really fault him. The old elf was really bigoted and racist.

" _Anyway, I wanted to ask you about the latest deliveries. What_ _do_ _you_ _want_ _them_ _for_ _anyways_? _That's way too many books on the subject of entropy. Enough for a doctorate. Should I be worried?"_ Bella almost scoffed at his inquisitive tone. _"You just scoffed at me didn't you?"_ now the tone was resigned. She did scoff at him this time, audibly.

"Well you know me well enough to be aware of my tendencies to pull through despite the odds. But in any case, it isn't me. I'm trying to help a few people is all. But I should look into it about the doctorate. Thanks for the idea." She replied nonchalantly. The ones hearing at her end of the conversation just stared.

'Pulling through despite the odds' was a tendency?

" _Okay then, since I'm bored enough why don't you tell me about it? Maybe I could help with bouncing back ideas."_ He was fishing for information there, trying to figure out if she was indeed helping someone else and not herself. Aw, how sweet!

"Well, these people's bodies are steadily and slowly degrading due to an infestation of inhuman cells, very similarly to how entropy curses work." She summarized. "I thought that by figuring out how those curses and their cures worked and I mean far more intimately than just memorizing a runic circle, I could device something that would work for them. Though, I lack certain pieces of information, because the scientist responsible doesn't know basic biology." She ground out in irritation.

" _Well, if you're looking for the workings of the curse that's easy. It starts by targeting the least important functions and works from there. It works on a molecular level by impeding cell reproduction_ _and accelerating cell death_ _while using the victim's magic to keep them alive. Now the cure works by finding the offensive piece of magic, destroying it along with the contaminated cells and then speeding up the reproduction of the healthy cells. The runes do it more thoroughly than the potion but are very complicated and you'll have to adjust it to fit their predicament. There's an even trickier bit there, because the curse works casted by both a Wizard and a Magus_ and _on either_ , _both cases targeting different systems while needing_ no _change in the casting. However breaking it is a whole different kettle of fish in both. The only way to identify if it's Magic or Magecraft you need to figure what was hit first, and the blasted thing wrecks shit up so quickly that it's very difficult, especially on limited time."_

"Yeah, you're a curse breaker. Right. I should have asked you way earlier." She pinched the bridge of her nose, lamenting her oversight before returning to the subject. "Still, I don't know the level of the contamination other than what is mentioned in the files, which is rather lacking. I can't go killing cells if there are not enough left to support the body, even if I raise the rate they are produced. Especially if I start killing the infected ones along with the dead ones. Also, it's not a curse but a genetic defect. The usual arrays aren't going to work." she argued.

 _"Yeah you're right._ _And ju_ _st like cancer, the therapy isn't going to do much good if it is distributed to late."_ the hanyo mused _. "Have you though of using juboko branches?"_

She drew a blank. "What is a juboko?" she asked monotonously. Another pause.

" _I'm surprised you haven't heard of it. I though that it would have been at least mentioned in your studies. If not Clock Tower then the Hunter course you took to get you license."_ He murmured surprised. _"A jubokko is a tree that grows on bloody battlefields. They grow by consuming the blood that was spilled and it continues living on human blood, using its branches."_ He explained.

"How the Hell is a vampire tree going to help?" she mumbled in disbelief making the only people that heard her, Cloud that was next to her and Vincent that had enhanced hearing, snap their heads towards her, with the youngest getting backlash. They stared at her with widened eyes, silently asking, seriously?, is that a thing?

" _I know it's weird" –_ "Weird doesn't even become to cover it." – _"but its branches are able to heal and decontaminate injured people. They aren't exactly common in the human world but rather numerous in Makai."_

She paused, the gears in her head turning in overtime. That could actually be viable. She could use the branches to get rid of the Jenova cells and cleanse the infected ones. Maybe fashion it into a potion or a salve… or at least _try._

"That's an idea…" she started out loud. "Maybe I could make a two-part solution that incorporates the decontamination and the acceleration separately. That's less things to fit in the arrays and less destructive mishaps…" she quickly conjured a paper and a quill and started furiously scribbling down ideas.

" _You_ could _make it a joint solution if you can't do the entire process in one go. Especially since we are talking about an entire body and not just an appendage."_ Her friend proposed. A joint solution would have to be applied simultaneously but that was preferable because that was the starting _t _ dealt with and would be in turn easier dealt with in the Arithmetic formulas.

"Now that's an idea. How about a potion to decontaminate and an array inscribed on the person to replenish the dying cells?" she was already making a rough draft of the array. "Can you send me a few books on jubokkos and a couple of branches? A few books on how to preserve them as well." She listed. "And it would be wonderful if you managed to send me branches from trees from the human world and Makai as well." She added as an afterthought.

" _Ok, got it. I'll see what I can do. Can I use your spare key to your account for the money? These things are fucking expensive."_ Gakusei requested.

"No worries dear. Thanks." Bella said cheerily. "Take care~!"

" _You too Bells"_ he wished her sincerely and hung up.

Bella put her phone and her books away, only keeping one hardback as a backing to the paper she used to scribble down details and character combinations. She had a better foundation this time she was making progress. And on that note…

"Sirius, when Andrew sends the files put them in a box and send them to Genesis through Hedwig. I wanna test a few things in the my workshop." She was gone the second she finished her request with a soft crack.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello dear readers! How are you doing this fine day? :D**

 **I am not happy per-se…but resigned and just rolling with it. So on the process of being happy.**

 **Anyway, enjoy the chapter and as is obvious, I don't own anything.**

Chapter 8

The sound of explosions was something the residents of the Extraordinary Tent learned very quickly to live with. Loud noise was an indication of work been done and thus progress, or a semblance of it anyway. Lack of noise on the other hand was alarming for two reasons. One it meant that everything was going fine so the next mishap would be a great deal more destructive because, apparently, that's how Bella's luck worked, or two it meant that there was no work been done and thus no progress.

So it was with a great deal of apprehension that Sirius Black approached the door to his Goddaughter's workshop that morning, when after almost two weeks the _bombing_ simulator that, apparently, was her work, went silent. And considering he was already _dead_ and thus had no reason to fear the backlash of any possible mishaps that could be created in that workshop, that was saying something.

Pressing his ear against the door he didn't hear anything, which was what would have been normal with the silencing wards in place, had the destruction not been so loud as to bypass that. With no small amount of trepidation he knocked the door and opened it slowly.

To reveal nothing.

At least not in eye level. Because after looking around for a few seconds, lo and behold, there is his pup, sleeping on the floor in a back breaking position and looking far more comfortable than what would be allowed on the very hard, very uncomfortable looking stone floor. Sirius sighed in relief.

Carefully he picked up his blissfully sleeping goddaughter, his nose crinkling in disgust as he caught the noxious odor of potion fumes. Of all the people that his pup could have taken after, why did Snivillus have to be included? At least her robe was better than the overgrown bat's. The dark silver garment with a white hood that had enough fabric to bunch up around her shoulders was too pretty for a dingy potions' lab. Especially with the long, white gloves she chose to wear.

While he was hoisting her up he noticed a neatly wrapped package with a note attached to it and resolved to come back and take a look at it after he's tucked her in.

So here he was, heading back up the stairs that led to the dungeon-workshop (damnit she took that out of Snivillus' book too!) to the main hallway and was about to head towards Bella's room, when Cloud poked his head out of the living room's door.

"So she's started her sleeping cycle." He remarked. At Sirius's questioning stare he elaborated. "You know how her sleeping schedule is complete shit?" - "Language, young man!" - "She stays awake until she completely exhausts herself and then sleeps like the dead for at least two full days. It's probably going to be more than usual since she probably delayed it to finish whatever she was doing down there. Overachiever, I swear."

Sirius looked at the almost tiny young woman nestled in his arm in a new light. Damnit, he knew that her personal health wasn't amongst her top priorities but he didn't know that it was _this_ bad! "Isn't there something that can be done?" he didn't care that he sounded desperate. Perhaps if he had been more careful in the death room in the ministry then maybe she wouldn't -

'Deep breath Sirius. Deep breath. You can help her now and you'll do a damn good job about it!'

"She said that if there was something then she would have done it already. The only thing she can do is make it a bit better by occupying herself with something else." The little boy's shoulders dropped in melancholy.

"I see. Thanks for telling me Cloud." Sirius nodded his head gracefully with a warm smile. "I'm getting this silly girl to bed and after that we can take a look at your spellwork ok? Though you'll have to tell me were you left of with Bella."

The boy gave him a sunny smile and nodded enthusiastically. Sirius was fun to hang around with. And he had lots of hilarious stories too. Here's to hoping he wasn't as much a slave driver as Bella was…

Sirius sighed, looking grim all the way to Bella's quarters. His prongslet was going to need a lot of help to get over her problems. He wondered if she'd ever gone to therapy. The wizarding world didn't view mental problems in a good light and had he not gone through psych-eval back in the Reaper Academy he would be having the same mindset. Mental illness and disorder didn't mean that you were a step away from being a dark wizard for magic's sake! Actually, on that topic, did _any_ of the people that went through the battle of Hogwarts go through basic therapy? If the reports were to be believed then the battle itself was a damn _bloodbath._ There's no way that none of the people there walked away with lasting psychological effects.

Finally he reached his goddaughter's bedroom and entered. The lights were of but it didn't obscure vision too much so that he couldn't see were he was going. He gently lowered her to the bed and tucked her in. She curled up under the blanket, back to the back breaking position he had found her in – he swore she was going to have a hump when she grew older - and grabbed one of her pillows tightly, nuzzling it in an incredibly adorable manner. Sirius smiled down at her lovingly and leaned down to kiss her brow. "Sweet dreams prongslet."

Linelinelinelineline

Soon after, the Reaper found himself back down at Bella's workshop to take look at the package with the note he had noticed earlier. Cloud had been right, she had delayed her much needed sleep to finish, for there it was, in Bella's neat and pretty handwriting a note practically confessing it to the world.

' _To whomever is currently reading this:_

 _Enclosed in the package is the finished prototype of the potion I have been working on along with instructions and a questionnaire for after it is used._

 _Please give this to Hedwig so it can be delivered to Mr. Genesis Rapsodos post haste._

 _Thank you.:)_ _'_

She even added a smiley face…

With a sigh of fond exasperation Sirius took the package and exited the lab, intent on finding the regal bird to run the delivery. In the corner of his eye he spied Bella's phone and snatched that up too.

"Cloud, have you seen Hedwig?" Sirius popped his head in the living room.

"Yeah, she was back in the kitchen eating her bacon." Cloud looked from the book he was reading and Sirius despaired a little o the inside.

"Thanks kiddo."

Now to somehow get that owl away from the bacon without dying again...

Iinelinelinelineline

Zack Fair exited the simulation room dragging his feet and collapsed on the first chair he saw in front of him with a relieved whimper. The SOLDIERs around him in the training room chuckling at his rather pitiful condition. His fiend Kunsel Zao gave him a sympathetic look and passed him a bottle of water. "You ok there man?"

Zack's first attempt at human speech came out as a breathless wheeze, the second ended in a cough and the third was a miserable failure all together. In the end he just gave up and nodded weakly.

"Ok my ass! What the hell did you do in there?"

Zack chugged the bottle down, took a few deep breaths and finally was able to talk, albeit with a bit of difficulty still.

"Angeal is being a bit tougher to compensate for the period when he was a bit out of it."

One of Kunsel's eyebrows rose to his hairline, subsequently getting hidden by his SOLDIER helmet.

"A bit. That's not by any stretch 'a bit'. It's a miracle for you to be this tired. You're an infinite spring of energy."

Zack just groaned in dismay, leaned back and laid his forearm on his eyes. Seeing this, Kunsel sighed. He knew that his hyperactive friend was happy for his mentor. Kunsel himself was also glad that the Commander was back to his normal, slave driving self. Everyone was for that matter. Commander Hewley was a truly kind and wonderful soul. Everyone in the SOLDIER program liked him. He was like an older brother to everyone, always helping them with their problems, training related or not and always having some sage piece of advice to offer.

"Whoo Geal, looks like you were a little too rough on the puppy." The familiar voice of Commander Rapsodos brought him out of his thoughts. The flamboyant man had just exited his own simulation, looking just as pristine as when he started. The only indication of strain were the droplets of perspiration on his forehead and cheekbones.

"Maybe you're right Gen." Angeal spoke with a hint of remorse in his voice looking at his worn out protégé while tossing a towel to his friend. "I should have probably gone a bit easier on him." He sighed. "Come on Zack. Get up."

He received a groan for his prompting.

Genesis gave a hearty laugh "' _My_ _friend_ _the_ _fates_ _are_ _cruel.'_ Poor puppy looks miserable. Have some mercy on the poor soul." The Ginger haired man said laughingly.

Angeal sighed in defeat. Between Zack's unresponsive body, Kunsel's blank stare that had started to rival Seph's and Genesis' prompting he was outnumbered. He ran a hand down his face in resignation. "Whatever. You're dismissed Zack."

Zack just stayed there unmoving. "Zack?" Kunsel prodded his friend on the side, in a place he knew he was ticklish. When he got no reaction he shook his friend a bit harder and managed to dislodge the arm from its place across his friend's eyes. This time he got a reaction.

A snore.

Zack had fallen asleep.

Before Genesis could say anything about his dark haired friend that would no doubt include the words "slave" and "driver", said friend fixed him with a look.

"Not a word."

linelinelinelineline

That evening Genesis was relaxing in his apartment after dealing with his paperwork with his favorite book in hand, yet he couldn't concentrate on the words. There were rumors of abolishing the truce…

Sephiroth had been getting called for meetings more and more frequently and coming out with his nerves shot to hell. That combined with the generally greedy mindset of the bastards in the board and he could imagine what had been happening behind closed doors.

He wondered what Bella was doing. But then again, it's only been a week since she had sent them those files. They still had a couple of weeks before the set meeting, but with how things were progressing he didn't know if it would still happen.

A tapping noise emanated from the closed balcony window, a noise he had come to associate with utter _despair..._ 'Don't tell me…'

Sure enough, there, standing just outside his window, was the white bird he had grown grudgingly ( and unpleasantly ) familiar with the past month, sitting on top of _another_ package. "Oh for the love of the Goddess…"

He dragged his feet all the way to the window and slid it open with more force than strictly necessary. "Just…get in…"

The owl tilted her head to the side in a confused manner. The human was acting strange today. More tired. Without anymore prompting Hedwig flew in and deposited her load on the table without demanding the payment she usually would. When that got nothing more than a raised eyebrow from the human she took it a step further and flew to his shoulder to look at him better. The human startled but otherwise remained calm. "' _Infinite in mystery is the gift of the Goddess.'_ Aren't you in a good mood today? Let's hope whatever your mistress has for me isn't going to make my day too horrid. Let's get a hold of the others."

linelinelinelineline

Sephiroth was the first to get there this time. He raised an eyebrow at Genesis with the owl sitting peacefully on his shoulder because last time he checked him and the owl did not get along...Unless the stupidity of the board members was rubbing off on him and affecting him. _Ooh_ scary thought!

"' _Infinite in mystery is the gift of the Goddess. We seek it thus and take to the sky.'_ Have a seat Seph. Asking about your day is pointless so I'm going with 'I hope the rest of it doesn't turn out as bad.' If you are wondering about my companion on the other hand, just go with it." The Crimson Commander gestured with one hand at the end while his tone became a mix between resignation and exasperation.

The speech got a chuckle from him. "Glad to see you doing fine too Genesis. Any idea what our lady friend has for us this time? Though I don't think she enjoys it any more than we do." He inquired while sitting opposite of the redhead.

' _When_ _the_ _war_ _of_ _the_ _beasts_ _brings_ _about_ _the_ _world's_ _end_ , _The_ _Goddess_ _descends_ _from_ _the_ _sky_.' The fact that I'm willing to trust a complete stranger says a lot about this company at this point. Are you allowed to talk about what the bigwigs are discussing or is it classified?" Genesis knew that what he was asking _was_ as a matter in fact confidential. And he also knew the answer to what he was _really_ asking.

On the other side of the fence, Sephiroth knew that his friend was offering to share in his troubles but it was still no more easy for him to practically confirm the trice blasted rumors. The thought of jumping ship was so, so tempting...In the end he settled for plopping on the opposite couch (gracefully of course) and letting the silence convey his answer.

His friend sighed and leaned forward, steadying his elbows on his knees and forcing the white owl on his shoulder to maneuver so as to not fall. "' _Dreams of the morrow hath the shattered soul…'_ I see. The intent behind it is money I presume?" that was a rhetorical question. "Do you think Bella knows?" he inquired curiously

"If not already? When it's put down on official documents she will, if her current track record is anything to go by." He was just as curious to see what she would choose to do.

At that moment the door opened and Angeal let himself in. "Well, this atmosphere is foreboding. Is it files again? I'm not sure if my world can take any more shaking." He deadpanned.

Genesis and Sephiroth laughed. God, Mr. Doom and Gloom was right, they were reenacting every Bella-related package delivery so far. " _My friend, the fates are_ _cruel, There are no dreams, no honor remains, The arrow has left the bow of the Goddess.'_ Come join us friend, in another slippery ride down the slide of ever-increasing misery." The crimson haired man gestured grandiosely in a joking manner. "Seriously though, we haven't actually looked at what she sent us yet. We were waiting for you."

"How gracious of you." Angeal chuckled and took a seat next to the silveret. "Did I miss anything?" he questioned lightheartedly.

"No, you didn't." Sephiroth dismissed. "Let's hope it's not as bad as last time."

"Hear, hear." The two childhood friends answered dejectedly.

Without delay, Genesis went about tearing the wrapping to reveal the package. Taking a look at the box, it did convey a more positive message… It was made of black polished wood with intricate carvings all along the edges and corners with golden accents. "I call dibs on the box." He abruptly exclaimed.

His two friend looked at him in a frustrated and incredulous way. "Just open the thing."

The box opened by a latch on the front that had an engraved emblem on it. Genesis resolved to look at all the details later. Inside he found a roll of parchment held closed with a red ribbon tied in a neat little bow, a letter sealed shut, and a circular case, usually used for storing candy, or balm.

Well, this one looked more promising indeed.

He picked up the letter, carefully cracked the wax seal -seriously, who used those anymore? It felt like nobility to even be holding this – and took the letter from inside. Parchment. Again, who used these? Putting his new questions together with the rest of the unanswered ones - that seemed to be piling up enough as it was – he started reading.

" _Dear Mr. Genesis Rapsodos_

 _Because formalities tire me something horrible_ this _is a one time thing. For politeness' sake. So, on that note, hi, how ya doing?_

 _You will be glad to know that I have a prototype ready, it's in the metal case, and a possible ( definite ) way to keep the promise I made to you._

 _Also, I have a set of questions ready to be sent back to me for reviewing after you give it a try. Don't worry there are instructions in there too._

 _Yours truly_

 _Bella Potter_

 _P.S. What, you thought I wouldn't pull through? :p "_

Short and to the point.

'This woman is exhausting.'

It must have shown in his face because Angeal snatched the parchment and went to reading himself. Genesis hoped that his own face did not mirror the borderline constipated look on his dark haired friend's face.

"This is unnerving…" Sephiroth's drawl drew them both put of their thoughts. A smile started stretching across Genesis' face. A smile he was sure was mirrored on his friend's face.

He quickly checks the envelope for the mentioned instructions and does indeed find them, another piece of parchment, neatly folded.

" _The_ _balm I've sent you will kill the Jenova cells as well as the infected cells in the area it's applied. It is only half of the solution I have devised and for that reason it is meant for trial use rather than an extensive one. The reason for that is that the files are so fucking sloppy, and the method described so terribly subpar, that I can not determine the extent of the Jenova infection, not by any fucking shot, and thus accurately establish the other half of the cure. Be warned that it will probably hurt when applied. Please follow the instructions described as closely as you can and answer the questions in the roll of parchment included in this packag_ e _in_ _as_ _much_ _detail_ _as_ _possible_ .

 _Thank you_

"This should be more pleasant than I originally thought." The Silver General mussed thoughtfully.

"Did she just call Hollander and Hojo sloppy and subpar?" Angeal' voice was thick with laughter, making them all laugh as well.

Calming down from his laughter, Sephiroth considered the implications of that statement though. "Think about it though." He said loudly. "Questionable morals aside, Hojo is supposed to be a genius scientist. For her to so easily call him sloppy and subpar, I do not think her dislike stems just from his inhumane methods. Add that to the fact that she seems to detest Shin-ra, I think she might be very similar to my birth mother, Dr. Lucretia Crescent." His voice lowered a bit in sorrow when mentioning his mother.

Angeal laid his hand on his shoulder in support. He was reminded that just because the others were handling it more gracefully, didn't mean that they hadn't been shaken.

Genesis picked up his friend's trail of though "Yeah, you're right. And if this does work" he lifted the metal case to eye level "it would also add up to the theory that she may be one of the fellow scientists that Hojo "removed" from the picture. The disappearances weren't even well covered up! Not even our SOLDIERs' were that well covered up. Makes me feel like an imbecile for not noticing until it was pointed out!" Genesis raged for a moment. " _Ripples from the water's surface_ …" he leaned back on the couch, almost laying on it, forcing the Hedwig to rearrange hershelf with an indignant hoot. "Oh stuff it bird! If you don't like my shoulder then relocate." He snapped.

"What's done is done and we don't have any say it." Angeal interjected tersely. "What we _have_ a say in is what happens from now on. And I don't know about you two but I plan to make sure this depravity stops." He declared.

"Took it right out of my mouth." Both Sephiroth and Genesis answered in a deadly quiet tone, killing intent rising. In the light of the dying sunset outside, their eyes glowed a poisonous mako green.

linelinelinelineline

Genesis went first in testing the balm the witch had sent. He had scanned the questions – it took some time because the parchment unrolled to a baffling almost nine feet. Apparently it wasn't just depth that dear Bella could screw with – and promptly handed it to Sephiroth to jot everything down. If looks could kill when an all-too-cheerfull Genesis had handed him the length of parchment...

He had then taken a knife from the kitchen, made a cut on his hand, and as per her instructions had used a **Cure** materia first to heal it. It did take a disconcerting amount of time longer than it should but it eventually healed after a minute. Still there was some irritation left. Seph was diligently writing the report , because it was a report she was asking for.

He then proceeded to cut his hand again and then put the balm on it. It did hurt but not anything he wasn't used to. Once he felt that the entire wound was in a balm-induced pain – her wording, not his – he _then_ used a **Cure** materia. Imagine their shock and delight when it healed almost _immediately._

After the initial surprise he switches with Angeal and then rinse and repeat and that's question 1. done.

An hour they haven't even completed a third of the parchment and Sephiroth retracts his previous statement.

"Forget I said anything. This isn't going to be pleasant."

*hoo-hoot*

"Along with the bird laughing at us…"

Linelinelinelineline

 **Soooo…there you have it. Genesis just didn't want to be written….OMG!**

 **One of my glorious reviewers pointed out that poor Mrs Strife needs a name and I am inclined to agree. But here's the thing….I'm , ah , shit at names. I was thinking of Hail/Hailey for the next time she appears but I'll keep working on it.**

 **I've tried channeling my inner doctor as much as I could with the last two chapters. The idea is that Bella, being from a more advanced world and with a medicine related mastery, aka potions, would have to have some kind of medical knowledge to do better in any potion related matters. Really, all I'm doing on that front is use my high school level knowledge on biology. At least my country's version of it. Checking the curriculum of other countries when in search for a university revealed that we were offered a higher level of it, because our teacher was fucking paranoid… Anyone who knows anything about genes knows what I'm talking about.**

 **It should be a couple more chapters before Bella meets with the three so look forward to it.**

 **I wish you all nice day**

 **~Sill.**


	9. Chapter 9

**W** **hy, helloooo there people! How are you doing? Another chapter is up, yayyy! For legalities' sake I own neither FFVII nor Harry Potter, unfortunately.** **But I own my imagination that has given birth to this gem!**

 **Thanks everyone, for your reviews and your ideas because without you I would have been in a slump. So without further delay, on to the chapter!**

 **Chapter 9**

"What time is it?"

"Half past nine. Why?" Angeal responded to his childhood friend.

"So not too late. I wanted to call our lady friend to thank her rather than just write it with the report. I thought it the polite thing to do." He reasoned.

"You're right. Pass our thanks too." What Sephiroth actually meant with that was that he actually wanted to talk to the woman. Which got him a stare with both eyebrows raised that said he wasn't fooling anyone.

Genesis took out the phone and quickly called the witch's number. Only, instead of the cheerful voice of the quirky witch, he was greeted by a distantly familiar childish voice that had him racking his brain to remember the name of the adorable blonde. It was something to do with the sky…

" _Hello?_ _"_

"Hi there kiddo. Didn't think I'd be hearing from you so soon." he answered pleasantly surprised. The kid had been a refreshing break from the usual sycophants he was so unfortunate to be surrounded with…

" _My name is Cloud damnit, why does nobody use it_?" the little boy grumbled. 'Thank you every kid's aversion to be called such' _"_ _To tell you the truth I didn't expect to hear you so soon either. Good for me_ _..._ _I guess._ _"_ And he was back to being serious and deadpan- 'Wait what do you mean "I guess"?'

"What do you mean you guess, cheeky brat? I'm a delight to talk to!" he snapped in pretend outrage.

Both his friends chuckled, breaking out of their mounting confusion. Due to their enhanced hearing and the good quality of the sound they were able to hear the conversation, if a bit faintly.

" _Whatever. Shouldn't you be reciting poetry_?" And that line made them choke.

"Why you! How cold! It's because I'm not Sephiroth isn't it?" Genesis on the other hand was having fun. There was also no sign of his usual brand of jealousy that accompanied such lines.

Sephiroth and Angeal shared a look. Being an acquaintance of the mysterious woman was doing their flamboyant friend good.

" _Now_ _that_ _you_ _mention_ _it_ -" Cloud's tone had been rather serious throughout the entirety of the convention, but somehow, the redhead knew he was joking.

"Don't answer that! All joking aside, I really wasn't expecting to hear from you anytime soon. I though that Bella couldn't go back to Nibleheim after last time" He asked concerned. She risked getting the little boy involved with Shin-ra in all the bad ways, if not getting caught.

" _We're_ _not_ _in_ _Nibleheim_. _We're_ _in_ _Cosmo_ _Canyon_ _now_. _I_ _would_ _be_ _working_ _on_ _my_ _tan_ _with_ _her_ _if_ _s_ _he_ _could_ _get_ _anything_ _but_ _burnt_." with the kid's tone he didn't know if he was jocking. " _Are_ _you_ _calling_ _for_ _the_ _package_ _she_ _sent_?"

"Good for you. Yes, as a matter of fact, I am, to thank her. Think I could talk to her?"

" _Unfortunately_ _no_. _She's_ _fallen_ _asleep_."The blonde shot him down mercilessly.

"From now?" it was rather early for an adult.

" _No_ , _from_ _this_ _morning_." All three of them shared a mildly confused look.

"Tell me you're jocking." No seriously.

" _Nope_." The kid shattered his hopes " _Don't_ _worry_ _it's_ _common_." 'What do you mean it's common?'

"How is it common to sleep the entire day?" his voice crackled a bit in incredulity.

" _If_ _you_ _haven't_ _slept_ _in_ _two_ _weeks_ …" Okay, forget mildly confused and go to mildly horrified. I mean, yeah, SOLDIERs _can_ stay awake for a week plus but their performance would steadily suffer and they _would_ need sleep after.

" _Please_ , tell me you're joking."

" _Nope_ , _we_ _call it a sleep cycle. Due to_ _trauma_ _and night terrors she can't sleep normally, so she goes on with her_ _schedule_ _until she collapses, at which point she sleeps for a couple of days. Since she delayed her sleep for a couple more days this time,_ _I_ _give it_ _a_ _bout three more days_ _before_ _she_ _wakes up._ _"_

"You're way too nonchalant about this." His voice raised at least an octave and he didn't care.

" _I_ _told_ _you_ , it's common. _I've_ _seen_ _it_ _three_ _more_ _times_. _Though_ … _her_ _legs_ did _give out_ _on_ _her_ _almost a week ago…She should have gone to sleep_ _way before she did_ _,_ _but_ _she wanted to finish._ " Still with the deadpan nonchalance, as if commenting on the weather.

"You know you're not helping. You're making me feel rather guilty."

" _And what if i am_?" Cheeky-!

"You're ruthless kid."

" _I should hope so. I've got a long way to go before I reach Bella-nee._ " That was a scary thought with some scary implications.

"What does that at the end of her name mean. Sounds Wutaian." Genesis tried to change the subject slightly.

" _Abbreviation_ _for_ _sister_." Oh Damnit!

"You're ruthless."

What he got back was a cheerful little laugh that did absolutely nothing to quell his anxiety.

" _Thanks_ _Gen_!"

Sephiroth interjected "Is she going to be able to meet us in Costa del Soll?"

Genesis directed the question to the kid, worried about the answer himself. Wasn't Costa del Soll a Shin-ra territory anyway?

" _I asked her the same thing when she told me. She said that it's not going to be a problem. So far she hasn't given me reason to distrust anything she says._ " Genesis could hear the resignation in the blonde boy's voice and he was pretty sure there was some hilarious backstory there too.

"Should I be afraid?" he joked.

" _Since_ _she's_ _not_ _after_ your _ass_ , _then_ _no_. _Your_ _Bosses_ _though_ …."

"You're not helping Cloud! What's that supposed to mean?"

Another laugh. This one was interrupted by the rustling sound of feathers and a sound he had learned to dread.

The hooting of an owl.

" _Oh_ , _hello_ _to_ _you_ _too_ _Hedwig_!" more laughter was heard from the other end and another hoot along with a bumping noise. " _Yes,_ _it's_ _Genesis_ _on_ _the_ _other_ _end_. _Sorry_ _Genesis_ _but_ _Hedwig_ _demands_ _bacon and what_ _Hedwig_ _wants_ , _Hedwig_ _gets_. _Talk_ _to_ _you_ _later_." And he hung up.

Genesis lowered his phone from his ear slowly and shot it a baleful look. "That bird makes my life difficult even when it's not here."

.

.

.

Wait, how did it get to Cosmo Canyon so soon?

linelinelinelineline

Cloud was reading his book. So far it has been an engaging read and he had gotten a lot of ideas on how to tie together his magic in combos. He should thank Bella-nee when she woke up.

The music of the Bella's ringtone broke him away from his book. Caller ID declared the person as 'Yuuka Kazama'. Another Japanese name. Most of the people that had called so far sounded Japanese. Thank Gaia for the translation charm Sirius had cast on him.

"Hello?"

" _Oh? A new voice. What are you doing with Belladonna's phone, little one?_ " the voice spoke in an airy and carefree tone but it gave him chills. Oh, and Belladonna! He'd almost forgotten that was her full name.

"I'm living with her and I am minding her phone while she sleeps." He replied carefully. Something told him that he didn't want this 'Yuuka' pissed at him.

" _Ara, ara. Another sleep cycle it seems. Any idea when she wakes up?"_ if he squinted he could make out some caring in the caller's voice, but it felt more condescending and nonchalant.

"At least tree more days. I can't be too sure." He replied, carefully neutral.

The voice on the other end giggled. " _Okay then little one, I'll call again in three days. And lighten up a bit, would you? It's not like I am going to eat you."_ And then hung up.

Why did that answer make him feel even more afraid for his life?

linelinelinelineline

Cloud was playing the game Bella had introduced him to and trying not to die to the extremely infuriating boss, who he had realized was optional way too late. Still, he had his pride damnit! He hoped that the death animation would have him stringing the thing up like the one he had seen earlier.

So of course the phone rings _now._

The music plays and he tries to stretch without taking his eyes of the screen. Not working!

🎵 _I wanna fuck the world_

🎵 _I'm gonna make it hurt_

He risks a glance and gets hit. Damnit. At least he knows where it is.

🎵 _I'll stand here all alone_

🎵 _I'm gonna watch it burn_

He backpedals away quickly until he's safely away from the rampaging, flayed, far-too-humanlike abomination aaand-'Got it'

"Hello Gakusei-san. How are you?" Cloud balanced the phone between his ear and shoulder, not pausing in playing his game. Not that he could.

" _Hey there Cloud. I'm doing good so far, how 'bout you? Is that unbearable sister of yours awake yet?_ " The famed 'Sei-chan's' voice rang distracted on the other end.

"Nope. Still hibernating. But perhaps I could help? I'm doing well too. Trying to kill a boss."

" _I see. Well I would be very grateful if you were to look up something in the library for me. Finish your boss first thought. Have you managed the last one you were stuck with? Blood Beast or something?"_ Wasn't he the one who introduced the game to Bella-nee in the first place? He got the name wrong…

"Ok. I'll see what I can do. Unfortunately no. Still stuck. You forgot a 'Starved' in there." He let out a long suffering sigh. This thing was making him hate his life.

" _Bite me. I haven't played in a while. Isn't it the emaciated thing that looks like it's wearing a hood. Good luck if it is! I remember rage-quitting too many times to count. As far as helping goes, see if you can find_ _anything about_ _the basic structure of old Nordic circles. I'm sure she has a couple of hardbacks on it."_

"Ok, I'll call you back." It was killing him! It was killing him! _It_ _was_ _killing_ _him_!

" _Thanks_ _kiddo_."

He hung up before Cloud could yell at him about using his name. And the momentary lack of attention got him killed. Again. For the thirtieth time.

"GODAMNIT!"

linelinelinelineline

Cloud had managed to unearth two hardback tomes that were labeled 'Norse Runic Matrixes: Exploring The Possibilities' parts 1 and 2. And when he said 'unearthed' he meant ' _unearthed'._ The things were practically buried among piles of papers, what looked like thesis notes and even more books. The books turned out to be some sort of series dictionary with individual notes for each chapter. Wonderful.

Picking the two (huge) tomes he carried them to a nearby couch...and fell on it in an attempt to sift his weight in the front the slightest bit. By Gaia, each book was as big as his forearm. At least there was a table of contents…

First step fulfilled. So he calls for further guidance.

" _Fujiwara."_

"Hello Gakusei-san. I think I found something. In a book thicker than the entirety of my former fellow villagers combined. The Meaning of Geometrical Patterns in precision heavy rituals and the Appropriate Arrays required, correct?" Cloud stumbles on some if the words. He may be mature and smart for his age but is still _nine._

" _Yeah_ _that's_ _it_. _Think_ _you_ _could send me_ _pics_ _of_ _the_ _first_ _ten_ _pages_?" The little blonde could _hear_ Gakusei's relieved smile.

"Ok. How do I do that?"

Half an hour later and a _thorough_ explanation of the phone's functions, Cloud was resolved to ask Bella for any other things like this he might have missed.

linelinelinelineline

Cloud trudged on towards the first couch he had near him. Sirius may not be a slave driver but Vincent sure was. Now that Bella was sleeping he had taken it upon himself to make sure that he wouldn't fall back on his training _at all_.

So he would give himself a medal when the phone rang again _that_ _day_ and he didn't chuck the thing at the wall.

Caller ID said 'Sky-chan'. Oh, for the love of-

"Hello?"

" _Who is this?"_ Well, excuse you-

"I'm Cloud and I'm minding Bella _-nee's_ phone for her while she's sleeping." He gave emphasis to the _nee_ smugly.'Who are _you_?'

" _My_ _name is Ciel. Bella contacted me to pick my brain about incarnations. Because the situation she found herself in was giving off certain vibes."_ The rudeness abated to a more relaxed and cheerful tone. " _So_ _you're_ _Cloud_ … _from_ _what_ _your_ _nee_ - _san's_ _told_ _me_ _about_ _you_ , _I_ _was_ _expecting_ _you_ _to_ _sound_ _a bit_ _older_." Why did everybody have to make some comment about his age? Instead of what he would usually say (yell), he inquired in his most deadpan monotone.

"Has she _told_ you my age?"

Ciel took it well. She laughed, a tinkling, light, pleasant sound, and answered him. _"Well, yeah. You're nine, but a very mature nine. Which is why I was expecting something that would_ _sound_ _like nine, not something that sounds like_ six _."_ She taunted. 'Oh come on-'

You know what, he was too tired to care. So he just sighed.

" _All joking aside, how_ is _she. Is everything alright? Because she sounded rather harried when she contacted me."_ Ciel's voice took a sincerely concerned quality.

"Well, her sleeping schedule is especially horrid. So as a matter of perspective it isn't anything new. But she will not be available for at least a couple more days." He answered vaguely so that someone who didn't know of her sleeping cycles would just assume she had an especially hard week.

" _Ah. A sleeping cycle."_ She answered in a flash of insight. He could discern a bit of approval somewhere in there too for his answer. _"In that case I'll send the more descriptive books via Zelretch Delivery Service first chance I get and I'll call again in a couple of days to check up on her. Sayonara Cloud and it was nice meeting you."_ And she hung up.

He gave an exaggerated exhale and layed back on the couch.

"Whatever…"

linelinelinelineline

Second day of Bella's slumber.

Cloud had just finished his breakfast when the phone rang. That did _not_ bide well for the rest of the day and everybody around him seems to be picking up on it too. Sirius is giving him a pitying look while his mother looks a tad exasperated. A hand on his shoulder tells him that Vincent is pitying him too. Andrew, in one of his rare moments of being there has the gal to snicker.

Checking the caller ID revealed yet _another_ unknown name. 'Stellitsa❤'

Okaaaay…

Probably a good friend. So he picked up.

" _Γειά σου αγάπη!" (*)_

"Uh…What?"

" _Oh_ _English_! _Ehm_ … _who_ _is_ _this_?" there was a slight accent but hardly discernible.

"My names Cloud. I'm minding Bella-nee's phone for her while she's sleeping." How many times had he said that now? And more importantly, how many more would he have to…he despaired a little on the inside.

" _Oh yeah! She mentioned that you would be taking care of it while she had her sleeping cycle! Silly me. So you're Cloud, huh? You sound absolutely adorable!"_ She ranted on. He was already liking this girl, if only because she had made no comment about his age yet. " _My_ _name's_ _Stella Emma but just call me Stella! Nice to meet you honey!"_

Cloud smiled. The woman's (? She sounded young…) exuberance was contagious. And thus Cloud settled for relaxing and pleasant conversation.

linelinelinelineline

The conversation covers a wide array of subjects and leaves the bystanders flabbergasted at the sight of the resident nine-year old _acting_ like a nine-year old while said nine-year old is merrily oblivious, too immersed in his conversation.

" _Ooh yeah. Makes many people hate their existence. Let me guess, third phase?"_

"Yeah" he answered dejectedly.

" _For starters, stock up on antidotes, she can easily run you out. And if you go behind the altar, you'll find three more."_

"Shut up! I didn't notice that."

" _And_ _also_ _she hates_ _fire_ _so_ _stock_ _up_ _on_ _fire_ _paper_ _too_. _And_ _always_ _stay_ _on_ _the_ _sides_ _or_ _behind_ _her_. _Her_ _attacks_ _are_ _focused_ _on_ _the_ _front_." Stella lectured.

"She?"

" _Officially the gender is female."_

"Okaaaay…"

Also the conversation was such a wonderful spring of information.

"And how did you two meet?" While Bella was sardonic and mischievous, Stella seemed more exuberant and bubbly. Not that it would be difficult to like the woman on the other end of the line. There was something about her that gave you the warm and fuzzies.

" _Bells was at a study trip. I live in a country called Greece you see. She had come to study Ancient Greek, since it's one of the most Ancient languages in our world and has influenced a lot of the other languages that popped up later, still does to this day for that matter."_ Stella explained excitedly and with pride in her voice. He couldn't really fault her. That sounded worth being proud over. " _Since, apparently, the lessons were easy for her, which I do not understand how, since I'm Greek and it's hard for me…anyway, since she found it easy, she decided to take up Psychology too, so we met on campus. We stumbled upon each other, literally, on our way to separate classes and she helped me pick up my books. And then she_ looked _at me, said I was adorable and_ glomped _me!"_ Oh Gaia! Cloud burst out laughing, interrupting the other's rumbling. That sounded _so_ like her.

"You study psychology then?" he asked intrigued after he put his laughing under control.

" _Yeah. Many wizarding communities don't have a positive outlook on mental illness. I hope I can change that in the future. Apparently that was her thought progress behind her motives too. And traumatic experiences too but it took me ages to figure that out."_

"Traumatic experiences?" that gave him pause. He knew that his nee-san's past was murky at best, but having it put that way…

" _Yeah. It's there if you know what to look for. She always surveys the room when she get in, flinches when people near her are loud and doesn't really like being too close to strangers, always has her back on a wall. Stuff like that. And while that is vague enough to be classed as paranoia, her extreme distaste to anything considered bullying and abuse is not. Especially when she can accurately, nine times out of ten, point out abuse victims by just observing them for a couple of minutes. Takes one to know one, right?_ "

"Oh Gaia, when you point it out, it sounds horrible." Because Cloud _had_ noticed all of the behaviors listed above and he had just chalked that up to her usual paranoia.

" _I know what you mean. But if you ask her she doesn't have a problem answering. Which is a good sign. It's just uncomfortable asking about it. And she seems to know when you put the pieces together."_ He could practically _hear_ the shudder from the other end of the line.

"Sounds like her." _Definitely_ sounded like her. "And why was she studying the language anyway?"

" _She is a runesmistress and Ancient Greek is a language used a lot in runic rituals since it has a very varied_ _and_ huge _vocabulary. Not one world means the exact same thing as another so it's very useful when you are striving for precision."_

"Sounds interesting."

" _It is. But don't make the mistake of bringing it up! She damn near waxes out poetic for both the languages and the mythos! And the same goes for Potions too!" '_ That sounds familiar…'

And this is how Cloud spent three hours talking to his new best friend.

linelinelinelineline

While Cloud was having a blast talking with his new friend, the rest of the inhabitants of the 'creatively' named (codified) "The Tent", were looking on in bewilderment.

"That was…sudden." Sirius commented.

"Hmm. He's taken to this…Stella…quite quickly. The only other person my little boy has taken such a quick liking to was dear Bella." Cloud's mother stated a bit reluctantly. There was a glint in her eyes that made he companions shiver. "Makes me wonder what kind of girl she is…"

Oh Merlin! Sirius for a second had visions of a Hungarian Horntail.

"Let's not be hasty Haile. If she's a friend of Bella's then she's probably in the same age range as her. I'm sure there's nothing to it." Sirius tried to diffuse the thick layer of Killing Intent. He knew that the Nibel region was known for its dragons but this is ridiculous.

"Perhaps…"

Sirius shot Vincent a pleading look…only to get a raised eyebrow in return, as if to say 'What are you looking at me for? I'm not getting involved.'

Sirius shot him a glare and turned to the other, rarely seen occupant of the table.

"How come you're here anyway Andrew? I though you had returned to Avalon." He asked Andrew, the hacker Bella had asked for help, trying to change the conversation.

"I did return. I wanted to submit my transfer papers." He answered.

"Wait, you're transferring? Where? And the Boss let you?" Sirius sounded incredulous. The Reaper Corps had problems of the understaffing variety especially the Records Department, in which Andrew belonged, because nobody likes paperwork. As thus, transfers outside of that particular Department were scarce at best.

"Come on, Deputy Boss. It's not like one casualty in the department is gonna set anything back. 'Yes you irresponsible twit, it is!' "And I really like it working with Boss Lady."

"Deputy Boss?" The animagus pointedly ignored the Boss Lady part.

"Well yeah. Boss Lady is my Boss now and you were here before me, so Deputy."

"That…doesn't make much sense."

Andrew didn't look like he cared much doing a flippant gesture. "Would you rather I call you 'senpai'?" he fluttered his lashes at Sirius semi flirtatiously 'Oh, God no!'

Andrew saw the look of horror his 'senior' pulled and smirked, receiving a heated glare in return. "Anyway, I found a couple more things along with what Boss Lady asked. I took the liberty not to include them because they were not related but I think that she would like to see them." he fished a folder from somewhere in his suit and handed it to Sirius who leafed through it quickly and nodded.

Vincent and Haile were looking at the two with twin looks of consternation, because really, they were talking about _Death_ and his _Reapers_ like they were talking about the _weather_.

"I'm told I'll get used to it." Vincent claps the woman on the shoulder trying to be supportive. The look she gives him tell him that he is failing miserably but she appreciates it either way.

linelinelinelineline

They know that they had underestimated Bella's ability to cause trouble when random people start stopping them on the street and asking where she was and if she was alright because she hadn't shown up for tea.

Their reaction was drawing a blank and going "What?"

The more naïve amongst the Tent's residents found it charming and considerate of her but the more experienced ones knew that what she was doing was gathering information. Of what you may ask? Well Shinra presence was non existent in Cosmo Canyon so AVALANCHE had taken the chance to semi-anchor themselves there. And while public opinion was most times biased it wasn't always in its entirety so. Especially the old people, the world weary people had a much more well rounded opinion with far more sage advice than their younger counterparts. And also, no one payed too much attention to the 'senile old codgers'.

Vincent wondered what kind of information Bella had gotten on them.

Also, it was so very bizarre to be given food, herbs and all kinds of medicinal paraphernalia, along with directions on how to prepare them, when they informed Bella's apparent tea friends, that she was sick.

Sirius put a stasis spell on everything they brought back, saying that Bella would want to take a look at them when she woke up.

linelinelinelineline

On hindsight, Cloud realized that the last call had set the day to be a pretty good one. And that he shouldn't have hoped.

Sitting on the couch listening the phone ring he wondered if he could ignore it. But Bella had trusted him with the damn thing and he didn't want to disappoint her…

'Sold-Sort-Enforcer' He was starting to see a pattern here.

"Hello?"

" _Hello. May I know who I am talking to?"_ The voice of a mature sounding woman responded in a commanding tone.

"My name's Cloud. I'm minding Bella-nee's phone for her. She is sleeping right now if you're calling for her." He answered politely. He had a similar feeling to when he was talking to that Yuuka woman if only a little bit toned down.

" _Oh_ , _I_ _see_. _Is_ _it_ _a sleeping_ _cycle_?" It wasn't a question despite it being phrased as one. But the woman answered considerably more relaxed. " _This is a bit of schedule. She should have gone under a little less than a week ago and have already woken up by now."_ She mussed.

'Um…' "Uumm…yes? Are you her doctor miss…?" Cloud answered hesitantly.

" _Oh, where are my manners! My name's Bazett Fraga McRemitz. We're…not exactly colleagues but we work together from time to time."_ The woman answered, suddenly flustered.

"Oh! So you keep a schedule so you don't contact her in an inappropriate time! I see. That's so considerate of you Miss Bazett." Unseen by the boy, on the other end of the line Bazett sweatdroped. He _was_ right but he had gotten it wrong about the schedule…well, technically. It's just that most of Bella's friends kept a schedule of her hibernations because she had the awful tendency of not taking care of herself when _awake_.

" _Do_ _you_ _know_ _when_ she's _waking_ _up_?"

"A couple more days in the least. But if you need any help I could help you. Gaia knows I've become quite well acquainted with her library in the last two days."

" _I suppose you would. She is a rather vital member in the field_ " _'_ Oh?! That was new.' _"of course I wouldn't be the only one calling to ask for help. Anyway, I know for a fact that she has an archive of the Karmesinrot family mages. Can you see if there has been any recently excommunicated?"_ 'Why the Hell would she have that kind of information!?'

"Ah..O-ok… I'll call you back then Miss Bazett."

" _Ok Cloud. And please call me Bazett."_ She bid him goodbye in a soft, kind tone. Cloud hummed in agreement with a smile and hung up.

"Alright. Let's see were the archive section is." He stretched his back with a small sigh. It was probably in the western section…

linelinelinelineline

The end of the day found Cloud exhaustedly crashing on his way to comfortable bed wondering how Bella-nee could handle so much socialization and with nobody noticing. Also, why she had so much, stalker worthy, information on so many Mage families. He would have to remember to ask her about it. Her policy so far concerning information seemed to be: "I didn't mention it because you didn't ask." So he should be fine. One more day till she woke up…hopefully.

linelinelinelineline

Vincent woke up the first day of Bella's slumber, although he didn't know it just yet, feeling somewhat contended. And that should have rung bells from the start. Then she didn't show up for breakfast and while that wasn't too out of the ordinary, the lack of ear shuttering, earth shaking booms that usually accompanied it was.

That was when the warning bells decided to go off.

While not showings up to get the basic nutrition to start the day was normal for her part, partly because for her the "day" had started a week ago and partly because she had already eaten something to keep on her week long binge, that was because she was working, so they all knew that she would show up a couple hours later to get the sustenance to keep her insomniac workaholism going.

But then she didn't show up for lunch either and the sound of her working had joined her on her disappearing act. _Now_ the warning bells were raising merry Hell.

He didn't know if he should be relieved or horrified by Cloud's blazè explanation when Sirius brought his blissfully passed out goddaughter up from her workshop. Perhaps he should have paid more attention to her daily schedule when she was still in the Mansion. Maybe it would make his stomach churn a little less. The following days he was treated to the sight of the resident Chocobo hatchling, because come on, Cloud's hair looked like a Chocobo's crest, trying to manage the witch's calls. To be honest though, he didn't think that it would end up being such a struggle for the boy to keep up. But then again he wasn't really around before now to know.

At least Cloud seems to have made a couple of friends from this ordeal.

linelinelinelineline

Haile Strife was caught in a bit of a…dilemma, let's say, about how she should be feeling. On one hand, she hadn't had so many people to care for ever since her dearest Sky passed away but on the other hand she had gone from a simple housewife to a willing accomplice to the apparent _messiah_ of their world, who had a good relationship with _Death_ and was working with _Grimm Reapers._

She had the impression that she should have been taking this a little differently than she currently was.

Still, it was nice having a full house to mother. Gaia knows some of her fellow residents _really_ needed it.

Iinelinelinelineline

Four days after Bella's slumber started, her housemates got a surprise when she joined them on the breakfast table like nothing was out of the ordinary.

Inelinelinelineline

Cloud yawned loudly as he sat down on the table, absent-mindedly making a grab for the saucer of milk and pouring himself a glass. A delicate hand pushed it towards him and he thanked the owner, still half asleep.

"Could you pass me the rice please, dear?"

"No problem nee-san." He in turn handed the bowl to the serenely sitting woman and turned to his own plate putting some french toast and bacon.

And took pause when he took his first bite along with the rest of the table.

His head turned to his right fast enough to get whiplash which he ignored in favor of staring in incredulity. She just raised an eyebrow at him like she hadn't spent _four_ _full days sleeping._

"Prongslet? How are you feeling?" Sirius's trembling voice cut through the silence.

Bella turned to him without changing her expression. "Right as rain. Why?"

"I think your godfather is concerned with the fact that you spent the last four days in torpidity." Vincent deadpanned.

The second eyebrow joined the other. "Oh, don't worry about that. It's a normal occurrence. I've gotten used to it by now. It's a good exercise for my magical core." She answered with surprised ease, dismissing the worries of her godfather, and everyone present for that matter, with a graceful gesture of her hand.

"You may be used to it, but not the rest of us Prongslet." The saggy haired man shuddered out with his head in his hands, the perfect picture of despair.

"Meh, don't worry, you will."

"I'd rather not!" came the cacophonous reply from everyone present, making her lean back startled.

"Oookay…Geez. You sound like Bazzy." She relented in confusion. "Speaking of Miss Enforcer, did I have any calls?" she directed towards the little blonde that withered at the mention of the phone calls. "I'll take that as a yes…"

 **Translations**

 **(*) Helo, love!**

 **Soooo that was the chapter! I hope you enjoyed. One more week in the timeline before both parties meet, aren't you so excited?**

 **On a different note, this was supposed to come waaaay earlier in January but I haven't been well. Like, at all. I've been sick the entire month. I haven't been eating well, I haven't been sleeping well and I have been quite stressed because things at my University haven't been going well either.**

 **I usually try to update once a month so there should be another update in February, but I can't make promises since I'm still not a 100% ok.**

 **I wish you all a nice day** **dear readers**

 **~Sil.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Well that came out later than I imagined. Anyways! My wonderful, wonderful readers, thank you for your awesome reviews and advice! I really appreciate your presence! So please, enjoy!**

 **Chapter** **10**

Andrew would be lying if he said he wasn't nervous when his new boss - without said boss having been consulted about the initiation of that status - said she wanted to speak to him. So here he was, sitting rigid on a sofa in front of the calm and regal witch, nervously sipping his tea. (And damn wasn't that weird. Actually been able to interact with the mortal realm after at least a hundred years. It felt so good…)

His new boss though...she was notoriously known for her desire to be in control of her own life, fueled by a life full of helplessness. She was rather well known in the Academy ever since news that the title of Master of Death gained an occupant spread. She didn't know it but she had a dozen departments worth of fanboys, himself included. No shit he would jump to the chance to work under her. But at the same time, she had given him only one job. He was afraid he was overstepping his bounds. (Please let her not cast him out. Going back to the facelessness of his cubicle in the department would be _Hell_ …)

Bella on the other hand was serenely sitting on her favorite armchair, legs tucked under her and contently sipping her tea. Dressed in an short sleeved, mid thigh, baby blue dress, hair in a bun and half a fringe secured by hair clips out of her eyes, she was the perfect picture of sophistication and calm. Seeing him fidget she cleared her throat. Which utterly failed because he started fidgeting harder.

"I don't know what you're so nervous about. I think we established that when we first met." She tried to placate him and gave him a small smile.

"You are not upset with me?"

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Now, why would I be? Do you mean about transferring? I was about to ask Death to do that anyway. You just got the papers ready a couple days earlier." He breathed an audible, and visible, sigh of relief. "However," cue sharp inhale "do keep in mind that asking is generally good courtesy before you do anything." Which was accompanied by the frostiest, most terrifying and yet kindest smile he'd ever witnessed.

"Yes, Ma'am!"

"Wonderful!" she giggled, tilting her head just a bit to the right with a more sincere smile and brought her hands forward, joining only the pads of her fingers. "Now, for what I really wanted you. Other than continuing to hack Shin-ra, I want you to make a legal paper trail for me, or more specifically, an alias of mine."

"Easy as pie. Details I should be aware of?" Andrew was now sitting alert with a notebook and pen that he had pulled out of God knows where, almost vibrating in his seat giddily. ' _Are_ _those_ _doggy_ _ears_?'

"Set the name as Diana Black. I want to pay homage to my dear godfather's family. It's foreboding if you know of the subtext, don't you think?" and the serene smile was back. Andrew was going to refer to it as the "Black Smile" from now on " of course I would need appropriate certificates but at the same time enough mystery around me to keep people interested. Trying to find dirt on me will keep them occupied for me to do a couple of things unobstructed. And of course make sure no one can out-hack us. It wouldn't do for us to get complacent now. Maybe a couple fake leads to have them running in circles would be fun." She giggled. Maybe she was enjoying this a little bit too much.

"Oookay. So what brought this along?"

"Well, there's another reason for me wanting to destroy Shin-ra other than the fact that the people behind it are irredeemable pieces of shit that should be killed in the most torturous way possible for green-lighting the fucked up debauchery they did." Despite her calm look anyone could tell she was angry. She was practically oozing righteous wrath. "The reason I was sent here in the first place was because there's an imbalance between the realms of the dead and the living. Since I am the Master of Death, once I die I will ascend to Death's level." She started her explanation.

 _ **Flashback**_

" _Explain to me again why it is my duty? I get that the imbalance is great and the cause an extreme case of FUBAR, which I tend to specialize in, I just don't get the semantics." A genuinely curious Bella asked the…being…before her._

 _Said being nodded in understanding. "As the Master of Death your ascension is inevitable. However it would be unwise to expect no responsibility when you come into the power connected to that event. One of your duties then_ will _be to protect the balance and thus it would be best to be at least a bit familiar with your duties. Usually you wouldn't be dealing with something this major right away but…well none of my Reapers would be able to handle the power needed and honestly, I cannot trust them with it since I can't really afford to lose any of them."_

" _You are understaffed?" and she was doing her vey best to not laugh. And failing._

" _It is a far more major problem than you might think." Death sounded petulant._

" _How come?"_

" _It is not that there is an actual lack of personnel, rather there is an overabundance of problems. All it takes is one little situation to go out of control to require more people than normal, taking them away from where they should be and suddenly another situation goes out of control because of redused minders." Death's voice raised just a little bit and she pat his back in sympathy. The swirling black mass was surprisingly solid._

" _Is it hard to get more people?"_

" _Not hard, extremely time consuming. Reaper Prospects need training, which at best, takes three years, five at worst." Is that so?_

" _Yes, that is so. Do not worry though. Souls made Reapers by you get most of the basic knowledge needed." Death informed, his usual drawl back._

" _Ok. One, don't_ do _that! It's disconcerting. Two, if I can "make" Reapers, why can't you?" it was a valid question._

" _Because I said_ most. _They would still need at least two more year of training to fully take on proper Reaper duties." Oh. That made sense._

" _Is it though? I mean the situation seems desperate enough. Can you really afford to expend the time for proper training when the understaffing is so severe?" It was a bit irresponsible but the situation seemed desperate enough._

" _I'm tempted. Believe me." And Merlin, did the poor thing sound miserable. "Unfortunately, as a god I cannot afford irresponsibility." Wai-what?_

" _Was the mess in any way shape or form your fault?" she asked incredulously._

" _No, not really. It is more Fate's blunder." How did that make any sense?!_

" _How does that make any sense? Why do you have to clean another god's mess? At least, shouldn't Fate tone down whatever possible interferences until some semblance of balance is restored?_ Why _does fate operate like that for that matter?_ "

" _Try telling Fate that. If she's bored then she will do something about it regardless of any consequences." 'Oh you poor thing!'_

" _Yes. Quite the poor thing." The scratchy wheeze that followed while terrifying was probably Death's equivalent of a sigh._

" _I'm going to excuse this one" she sighed dejectedly, rolling her eyes while impulsively scooting closer to the red eyed form of darkness in front of her and bringing her arms around the general area the shoulders were. Surprisingly, along with the darkness being rather solid, the smoky wisps escaping the "coat" were comfortingly cool._

" _Were you anyone but my "Master" you would be dead now." He deadpanned._

" _Shut up and take the comfort I'm giving you." She shot back jokingly._

 _ **End of flashback**_

By the end of her reminiscing, Andrew was looking at her with what could only be described as a dead-fish-eyes look. "You know, considering the kind of rumors going around the Academy concerning Fate, I am not surprised."

"Yeah. And the hissy fit she is currently throwing because you're, well, doing your job, is playing a lot into them." Sirius interjected from his position on the doorframe.

"Oh hello Sirius." Bella turned her head to face him and gave him a smile. "How long have you been here?"

"Since you started your explanation." He replied easily as if he hadn't been practically eavesdropping. "It was quite informative actually."

She raised an eyebrow "Weren't you informed before you were sent over?"

"No. Not really. He just told me to scat towards your location which I didn't understand at first. But then I realized that it was just his peculiar humor." His lips raised into a soft smile. Death was a sweetheart beneath all the doom and gloom.

"Are you sure that you should be speaking about gods like that?" Vincent joined the conversation. "I suppose that…Death…has a soft spot for you, but are you sure about Fate?"

"Nah. It's really no secret that she can be a bitch. And try as she might, Bella, by being the Master of Death, is untouchable by any mean spirited attempts at retribution." Sirius waved of. "And even if she wasn't, apparently, Fate _has_ tried to pull a similar stunt before. The other gods put the smack down on her when she did." Unsaid went the part that the rest of them were safe by association.

"Why am I not surprised." She sighed miserably. It would fit in perfectly if Fate was a petty bitch.

"Still, there is nothing to worry about. Only thing she can do is throw hurdles, but nothing major since Death has cracked down on her really hard. I mean, this world was practically her plaything. And if Death is pissed, you should see Balance. She's so damn murderous. I'm sure that if the big guy doesn't then Balance is going to give you a heads-up if Fate decides to do anything." Sirius continued reassuringly. He had not been a conventional Reaper for long, but he had been exceptionally good at what he did and that had gotten him a lot of positive attention from the high ups. And that meant having to console some distraught director because the expectations were stupidly high, resulting in _a lot_ of stress. He had even been roped at some point with helping with the paperwork. While he had _not_ enjoyed the overtime, the inter-department political tidbits and the outside information had been pure _gold_!

The other raven haired man in the room, a certain Chaos vessel, currently had his bowed head on his hand, trying to remember what had actually possessed him to follow the woman when she left Nibleheim almost a mon- holly shit it's only been a month!

He was wholeheartedly hoping he would get used to this at some point in the future.

Hopefully near future but who was he kidding.

linelinelinelineline

With Andrew put to work, it was time to start planning. She was hunted down by Shin-ra so she had to be _at_ _least_ careful. They had less than a week left to the meeting in Costa del Soll.

"Cloud dearest! Show me what you have been doing in training while I was sleeping."

Cloud Strife had a violent shiver go down his spine.

Fortunately for him, he was saved by a, by now familiar, portal shimmering into existence a couple of feet away from her and gently depositing a box on the floor. A box with little holes on the sides.

Oh Gawd what was going on now?

On top of it was a note written in pretty Japanese scripture:

" _Found this little guy it Thailand. Though you'd like him. Unfortunately he's not poisonous._

 _Gakusei"_

"Poisonous?" she muttered in amusement, already guessing what Sei had sent her.

Cloud, who was just about to enter, stopped, looked at the box, and after a second shrugged and walked towards his big sister anyway. "Is there a snake in there?"

"Why yes Cloud dearest, there is. Sei-chan says it isn't poisonous so it should be okay." She eyed the box. "Wanna look with me?" she proposed excitedly.

"Yep!"

Bella quickly untied the sparkly ribbon – Sei-chan knew just what to do to give her the warm and fuzzies, it was even purple! – and carefully took of the lid of the box and they both took a look inside.

" **Oh!** **Shiny!** "

"What?" Vincent walked through the living room door having heard the exclamations of wonder. And had the dubious honor of watching the witch reach into the box an retrieve a black iridescent _snake._ " _What?_ "

"Oh hello Vincent!" Bella greeted him before turning back to the snake and _cooing_ at it.

"Oh, there's another note here." Clood reached into the box and took out a piece of paper. "I can't read it. It's in…Japanese, was it?"

She reached and took the note from the blonde's hand. "Yeah, it's Japanese. It says that this particular species doesn't do well in non magical captivity so I should be careful as to what kind of environment I put this little darling in." she explained.

"Bella, that is a snake." Vincent deadpanned.

"Yeah, so?"

"You know what? Forget it. What did you mean by "non magical captivity"?" While most women would screech at the sight of a snake let alone the idea of touching one, he had to remind himself that Bella was _not_ a normal woman. Though that made him dread what was coming next.

Bella raised the snake to eye level, holding it gently. "Look at these pretty holo scales and tell me they aren't magical. This species of snakes has a magical ancestry though it is highly diluted due to crossbreeding. Still they retain some measure of magical power and thus cannot survive in a completely magicless environment." She explained. "But that isn't going to be a problem, is it honey?" she turned back to the snake nuzzling it's head to her cheek.

And then she hissed at it.

And the snake hissed back.

And then she hissed at it again.

Rinse repeat.

Was she having a _conversation_ with it?

"Are you having a conversation with the snake?" came Cloud's deadpan question. Thank Gaia because he didn't think he could keep his voice even.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I am. And he is a wonderful conversationalist." She huffed in affront, like talking to snakes was common occu – you know what? With her it probably was.

She hissed again and raised the snake to neck level and let the snake climb around her neck, looping once snugly, before settling and hissing back. She smiled and run her finger tenderly over it's head.

"Sooo, what do you wanna name him. He says he does not have one." She cheerily turned towards Cloud who nodded excitedly. "Uh-huh. How about having to do with how he looks? Maybe in one of the weird languages you know?" he suggested. Vincent perked up. He wondered how many languages she knew.

"Hm. Good idea." She agreed and then turned towards the snake and hissed some thing at it, then turned back to Cloud. "Up and down once is a yes. Twice is a no. So fire away." She moved to sit on the couch.

"Ok, let's start with shiny." The boy trotted to the couch and flopped down as well. She raised an eyebrow at him. "Really?"

"What? We'll built up from there."

"Ok, let's see" she paused for a couple of seconds "brillant".

"That doesn't sound too good." Cloud looked dubious

"Shush, it was your idea. Let the snake decide." She dismissed. To Cloud's joy the snake bobbed it _– his_ head, he was male - twice so the name was scraped. The joy would be short lived though, the little guy was very particular about names. It made Vincent think that it was perhaps the reason he didn't have one. Half an hour they had scraped "shiny" had a lot of maybe's from lustrous and were halfway through "luminous".

"Lysande." Moments late it was scraped and Bella was rubbing the bridge of her nose. She was cursing her younger self when she had decided to take up Runes. It was the reason for her, now, extensive knowledge of languages.

"Svetyashchiysya" The snakes head bobbed a bit to the side. "Ok, so that's a maybe." At some point Cloud had gotten pen and paper and was writing the maybe's down.

'How did she even pronounce that?'

"How did you even pronounce that?" Thank you Cloud for asking all the questions.

"Russian is an art." She delivered the answer tiredly and practiced.

"What art? Of tying your tongue up?"

"Close enough, Cloud dearest." She chuckled. "Sooo, what was next…this was Russian so next is…Malagasy so…mamiratra." Two bobs. "Ok next… lonrúil?" For a moment there was no movement, and then, finally and blessedly, one solid bob.

Everyone stayed still, the silent stretching, all three sharing the same though with equal amount of incredulity and relief. 'Wait. Is it over?' Finally, it was broken by the groups resident Chocobo. "Wait, that's it? We done?"

The equally surprised witch took a breath before relaxing and sinking backwards in the couch. "It seems we are sweetheart." She smiled and reached to bring the now named snake up to her eye level. With a most tender tone – somehow still conveyed by the hissing sounds that left her throat – she gently cupped him in her hands and spoke as if to a dear family member. _"From now on your name is Lonrúil. Welcome to the family."_

Both Cloud and Vincent were suddenly very jealous of the snake for some reason.

linelinelinelineline

Bella had finally left The Tent. After her time asleep it was finally time to get out to the world and socialize again. Six days of absence should have been enough for some info to surface.

She drew herself up proud and graceful, raised the basket up higher on her forearm and knocked on the door of one of the resident older ladies. They were meeting in dear Cindy's place for tea and she had brought some of her best darjeeling, only appropriate to treat the wonderful women for the variety of herbs and foods they brought over when they thought she was sick.

The door opened and she was greeted by the kindly face of Cindy, a woman that had aged gracefully, even if time hadn't been kind on her back and bones. The marks on her sun kissed complexion spoke of a life outdoors and the callouses on her knuckles of hard work. Her white streaked dark brown hair was tied at the base of her neck with a red ribbon and she wore a pastel yellow, calf length dress with long sleeves. She got around with a cane nowadays, her back straight, but always with a kind smile. Woe betide you though if you stroke a cord, her tongue was sharper than a surgical scarpel.

Of course contrary to that, the first thing Cindy did once she saw her was rush with surprising speed to embrace her tightly. "Oh my goodness Bella, are you alright? I have been so worried about you!" she fussed, patting her down to Bella's surprise. "Are you eating enough? Thank Gaia you don't seem to have lost weight!"

She was about to answer the woman when another voice broke through, coming from the out of sight living room. "Did you say Bella? Is she here? Come on Cindy, don't keep her to yourself!"

"Oh, shut it, you crone! First come, first serve!" Cindy hollered back while ushering the you younger woman inside "Come on in Bell, don't stand in the door." All the witch could do was laugh heartily.

She was quickly pushed into a seat amongst three more women of varying age. In front of her was a middle aged woman, with carelessly hanging blonde hair her bright brown eyes were shining with mischief. She sat slightly hunched and was smiling widely. She wore a cream colored sleeveless shirt with a neckline held together with a brown ribbon. The shirt was tucked in a pleated white long skirt. This woman was named Sonne, quite fitting for her bright disposition. She was also the one who had yelled before. "Rise and shine poppet. You look quite well for someone who stayed incapacitated at bed for almost a week." She was smacked on the shoulder by the woman sitting next to her, on the right. Bella winced internally. She had such sharp nails after all.

This one was a more austere - and more aged for that matter – looking woman, rather reminiscent of Prof. McGonagall down to the tight bun on the top of her head. Her face was pinched and her eyes were a sharp grey, always gazing into the depths of your very soul, like a vulture. She looked very much in her ellement in the high neck of her dress. Even the color of her dress, a dark brown was something she could imagine on her old teacher, albeit without the lack of tartan that her Professor had such a taste for. Her name was Sheila.

Her long, carved nails – claws, but she would gaze death at you if she heard you - clinked sharply on the porcelain of cup, bringing attention and silence. "It would seem that you are well. Please though, while I know that you are well equipped to do so, make an effort to take better care of yourself. You had us rather... worried." Sheila directed a sharp look at her direction. Bella fought the urge to answer with a "Yes Professor!". Instead she gave a curt nod, and breathed in relief when the older woman's eyes softened by the tiniest of margin.

Oh yeah. Also, this woman was the first, and only one, to recognize her as a witch. And not just as a materia user, but as an unknown variable, as something different. Yeah. Scary.

The last woman was sitting in an armchair to Bella's right. She was a kind and compassionate one and it showed on her face. She was also the youngest one of this group of ladies, only a decade older than Bella herself. Still though she was the more tired looking one of them. Her brown hair had lost their luster and her golden eyes were hooded. The world was full of greedy, despicable people, ready to take advantage of anyone they could and in this case, this poor thing had mingled with the worst of them. Still though, her stance and flowing white dress alluded to a strength that had yet to fade. This was Anne-Marie and she had been one of President Rodolfo's Shinra mistresses.

"So sorry to worry you ladies. My disposition was rather weak this past week. Rest assured it was not my intention to worry you." She straightened her back and placed the basket in her lap. "It made me very happy though that you gave all those wonderful gifts to my companions for my sake." She smiled a small but dazzling smile full of happiness, sincerity shining through half lidded eyes.

All the ladies couldn't help but smile back at the beautiful picture. Sonne was even padding her eyes clean of tears with a handkerchief. Hell, even the ever stoic Sheila was looking at her softly.

"So, you show my gratitude, I brought this." She brandished her basket unhindered and uncovered four perfectly wrapped pouches and a carefully wrapped cake mold. "I just received this tea from my compatriots back home and I thought it would be such a beautiful idea to share this with you. You are my closest of friends in this strange land after all and you welcomed me so readily and graciously when I arrived." Her eyes were cast down, looking gently and slowly tracing the basket's edge with a delicate finger. A picture of bashfulness.

"Aww deary! Don't be like that. You are such a delight to be around. And you didn't have to bring anything. Your presence is much more of a gift." Cindy waved her of with a soft smile.

"Old Cindy is right. Leave these old women to have someone to dote on, why don't you." Anne-Marie gave her two scents as well only to yelp when Sonne pinched her arm with a scowl on her face. "Who are you calling old brat? Sheila yes. She is as old as dirt but me? I-" her rant was cut by a sharp clinking of nails on porcelain and then the distinct sound of scraping on the ceramic. Sonne gulped and turned to look at the resident vulture. Said woman was slowly sipping her tea but the way she was holding the cup showcased all ten of her perfectly manicured _claws._

"N-n-not th-that age is a bad thing! I would be blessed to be as wise as you when I reach your age!" she immediately backtracked to avoid the scary woman's wrath. Sheila gave no sign that she had heard or wad even offended in the first place but the cup was adjusted in her grip, the nails tucked in. Sonne deflated in relief.

The rest giggled.

In an effort to diffuse the animosity, Cindy proposed an idea. "Why don't I go prepare that tea you brought Bell? I am a bit curious about it. And I'm bringing plates to try the cake too." She smiled when the witch handed her a pouch.

"So ladies…what did I miss?" Bella leaned in eagerly.

Sonne bounced back up, eyes alight. "Well, it seems AVALANCHE is turning more serious on recruiting. There's this new guy that came a couple days after you fell ill. His name is Fuhito and he's probably pretty high up. I heard him in the marketplace the other day talking about how Shin-ra is restarting the war against Wutai and that they may come recruiting!"

Bella hummed in thought. Andrew had drawn up that infirmation already but she knew for a fact that Shin-ra wasn't going to make it public. She highly doubted they would start recruiting. "I'm not surprised to hear that Shin-ra is planing on breaking the truce. They _are_ greedy enough. However, I doubt that they will make it public." she voiced her thoughts. "The people are already anxious and disgruntled, what with recovering from the last one. Recruiting would only cause more problems for them." She reasoned.

"Hm. I normally wouldn't be saying this but, well, I don't think he is to be trusted. There is something in his eyes." Anne-Marie's soft voice quivered a bit as she continued. "And he is good at hiding it, but…he's been giving me looks...and he tried to question me."

Everyone else's eyes hardened immediately. Bella disliked him immensely already. "Let me guess, he dropped hints about knowing your backstory too?" she guessed in disgust. The brunette's nod only exacerbated it. "Too bad for him that everyone here knows that and they are rather protective of you for that." Bella siggered with a smirk.

"Damn right we are!" Sonne gave a cackling laugh.

"He was asking about you too though Belladonna." Sheila informed. "One of the more…enthusiastic…residents was talking about how all your predictions come true. I suppose he got interested."

The witch pinched the bridge of her nose in despair. Of course Divination would come back to bite her in the end. Trelawney was not a complete hack after all, just generally incompetent.

"Maybe I shouldn't have chosen fortune telling as my "profession". She lamented.

"Maybe. You rip what you sow." Cindy stated as she re-entered the room, carrying a tray "But you've become very popular because of that, so you have the villagers' support. So not everything is bad." she pointed out.

"Cindy's right. Though you should watch yourself. _We_ might not be taking it all that seriously, but AVALANCHE aren't as innocent as they'd like to show themselves as. They are still terrorists and Fuhito doesn't seem like he'd let many things deter him. He might try to force you." A pause as the woman brought her cup to her lips and an unladylike slurp was heard. "Holly- this is heavenly Bella!"

"You think so too, huh Sonne." The raven haired witch sighed and the bubbly blonde nodded emphatically in answer. The matter was – of course – not the tea.

"That is a point we all agree with." Sheila's voice rung with finality and that was the end of that matter.

lnelinelinelineline

It was late that afternoon that a content witch, walking back to her lodgings, would be cornered by the person she had come to despise within two very short minutes.

Just one corner away from the entrance of the village and the Tent would be in sight, a mere 50 feet of walking distance. Just as she was rounding that corner she bumped into a person with enough force that had she not already been cautious from the previous discussion she would have fallen backwards.

She was so damn sure that it had been intentional.

Thankfully she caught herself gracefully and looked up at the man. He was a quite handsome young man with short brown hair swept back with brown eyes behind a pair of glasses. And that's all she cared to notice because she was immediately looking into his eyes and she _knew_. This was Fuhito and he was just as vile as she imagined. Still she plastered a smile on her face and hoped it didn't look fake.

"I'm sorry miss, I didn't see you there in my hurry." He smiled, admittedly, charmingly. "I'm so glad you didn't fall. It was quite an impact and I would be feeling horrible." 'Oh, fuck right the fuck off with that. You were _trying_ to tumble me.' he was fishing for information… Dream on buddy.

"Well I'm a lucky girl, aren't I? You seem to be in a hurry though. I hope I'm not making you late." 'Come on, take a hint.

His eyebrow twitched minutely but he continued smiling. "It's no bother Miss…?" he trailed off suggestively. Hmm…to lie or not to lie…well he has been looking for her so he may be a bit more honest…well…to have an excuse for a tad bit more information that is. Mind "reading" is not normal.

"Bella." She answered still looking him in the eye and she was immediately assaulted by information. 'Scratch that. There's no way he's gonna be telling me that.'

"Oh so you are the famous traveler. I've heard quite a bit about you." He exclaimed with a glint in his eye. Conveniently, he "forgot" to give her his name. Well, not like she needed it. Let him make assumptions.

"Is that so? Am I that well known?" she inquired bashfuly 'Come on little fishy, tell me what I want to know.' And there it was. The thoughts came rushing out. He had heard rummy about an incredibly powerful individual traveling and he had tracked her down. That was a bit concerning. She would have to cover up her tracks well from here on out.

"Well, there were some rumors around the traveling merchants about a fantastic fortune teller. I just had to check it out myself." 'Liar.' He was calculating his next answer too… well, let's try to throw him off.

"Well, that's going to be good for business." She smiled a smile full of teeth. "Would you like to know your fotune too?" she asked.

He chuckled and rubbed the back of his head while averting his eyes. He was a good actor. "No, not me. I'm too much of a coward for that. Actually one of my comrades believes in these things ferociously. It's more for her sake." He ended with an unsure smile. Damn he was a good actor. And it was nearing time for her to scram.

"Is that so?" she moved her basket higher up her arm, placing it on the crook oc her elbow and at the same time use her wide, long sleeve to conceal the fact that she had retrieved her phone. The Choir Garb was indeed very useful for these situations. "So that comrade of yours…you like her?" she gave him a mischievous smirk. His eyes widened a bit. He was not expecting that. And oh, the wonderful tidbits about a girl called Elfè and how preposterous it was to harbor feelings for a tool. All the better for her. She took advantage of his faltering to activate the "Though to Text" function and send a message to Cloud's phone.

" _I'm in front of Tent. Send someone for pick-up."_

Now all she had to do was wait.

Fuhito recovered fairly quickly, what a shame, and continued, his thought process constructing a new course of action. Bloody Hell, this guy was calculating and manipulative as fuck! "We are close but more out of necessity than anything else. Rebels need to stick together. This is a cruel world after all."

There it was. "Rebels?" she inquired innocently.

"Why, yes. I am a member of AVALANCHE." His smile became more sure and a cruel glint almost became visible in his eyes. His thoughts sure did. So she plunged.

"You mean the terrorists that are defying Shin-ra regime?" she raised an eyebrow and straightened her back. Time to dash his hopes. "Should you really be admitting such a thing out loud?"

It was his turn to raise an eyebrow. "Why should I not? It is a just cause."

She leveled him with an unimpressed stare of Malfoy's caliber "I'm not knowledgeable enough to criticize the justice of it but it's the efficiency of it that I am unsure of." She shot him down.

He recoiled. "What do you mean? It is as clear cut as it could be. We lead attacks against Shin-ra because they are killing the planet." So he was going to argue over the first issue as well, huh? He obviously didn't like what she was implying. If that's what he wanted. "If that what you think then you are either very naïve or very stupid. Not everybody knows why you do what you do and you have made no attempt to educate them otherwise. Thus, the people see a group of ingrates that's trying to deprive them of the thing keeping the monsters out at night. And also say you do manage to bring Shin-ra down. What then? Do you have anything to take their place? Shin-ra's practically the government of this planet. Do you have any idea about alternative energy sources? And that's only the tip of the iceberg. If you haven't though of any of that then I'm sorry but I have every right to call you an idiotic buffoon because this is way too half-assed." Oh it what a pleasure it was, watching his face contort in outrage. Especially at her last comment.

"How-"

"Is this man bothering you Bella?" ten points for punctuality Vincent. She gave him a bright smile which morphed into a smirk as she turned to Fuhito.

"Not at all dear. Mr. Fuhito was leaving, weren't you Fu-hi-to-san?" His face was glorious! She didn't have the time to admire her masterpiece unfortunately. Timing is key after all. So she looped her arm through Vincent's, who had offered her his, having understood what was happening and was now escorting her back to the tent.

Once she got in she collapses with gut wrenching laughter and even Vincent gave a chuckle. "Your timing is absolutely brilliant Vince! Absolutely bloody brilliant!"

"Thanks. I suppose. Who was the poor sap you just trolled. It looked like he was having a conniption fit." He helped her get to the living room, holding her up as she was still laughing. She sat down and finally managed to calm down.

"That, Vincent dearest, was Fuhito, the brain behind AVALANCHE. He has been a real stalker, we should be a bit careful in covering up our tracks from now on. Oh the wonderful information I got from his head!" she squealed and collapsed again in peals of laughter.

 **Sooooo, there is a reason I was late actually. And it's not pleasant. So you see, due to peer stupidity, my semester and end of semester exams were very delayed, like 3 months plus. And as thus the end of semester exams ended up happening in late February – mid-March. Yayyyy… And of course the suffering isn't over yet because I had to make a trip to the dentist…which led to having to get an X-ray done, which in turn revealed that my wisdom teeth decided to surface** _ **now.**_ **So I needed to get ALL FOUR OF THEM removed. In pairs. Surgically of course. So two surgeries. In the middle of fucking exams. So yeah. Pray for me please because I'm still hurting...**


	11. Chapter 11

**Helloooooo everybody! How've ya been? I've been stressed but I'm fine. Here's the monthly chapter!**

 **I sincerely thank everybody for your reviews and advise. - And also your sympathy for my predicament…..yeah I still hurt from the extractions….the surgeon took out a lot of bone…..Anyway!- They always make my day and help me become a better writer. I hope you enjoy this chpter!**

 **C** **hapter 11**

There was only one week left And they would need at least three to get to Costa del Soll. By _her_ means that is. So they were leaving the canyon tomorrow just to be safe and make sure that they had time to set everything up once they got there.

That meant that she had to wrap everything up with the actual purpose of her visit. Materia and the Planet. Time to pay a visit to Elder Bugenhagen.

Linelinelinelineline

Finding the eccentric elder was not particularly difficult. It's just that, well, for a man of considerable age he sure was _nimble._ Every time she was close enough to talk to him he would suddenly put such a distance between them that she would have to run to catch up. Every. Single. Time.

Must be that green sphere of his… speaking of, hadn't he had a cane? And different robes when she first saw him? Should she ask?

Finally, _finally_ having caught up with him Bella was able to hold a conversation for the first time since coming to the canyon, excluding the minor first exchange of words since they first arrived.

"Good morning elder." she greeted panting a bit from all the running.

"Why, good morning to you too, young lady. I haven't seen you since you first came here." the old nan smiled at her.

She gave a small laugh. "Well, a couple things happened and I've been quite busy. Before I knew it the time had passed and I realized I had to leave soon an I hadn't finished doing what I wanted." And no, she wasn't the least bit hysterical. The hitch was because she was still out of breath.

The elder nodded his head sagely. He had heard that the quirky young lady had fallen ill for about a week. That would throw a wrench in anybody's plans. "I see. You said that you were interested in the planet, correct?" she nodded in affirmative. "Then come this way dear. I'll be glad to tell you all I know. It's good seeing young people so interested about the world they live in." he said with a tinkle in his eye. 'Wai-what? That was just random word placement, right?'

"Back home, there are a couple of sayings we have. 'Knowledge is power' and 'Knowing is half the battle' and considering what kind of knowledge we're talking about here and what a scandal it would be if it got out, well, what can I say, I like having the upper hand." her smile was absolutely predatory, the one Andrew had so "lovingly" named the "Black Smile".

"Oh ho ho. Now what could you possibly mean young lady?" the old man lauged. He knew exactly what she was talking about.

"Well, don't you think that Shin-ra has been going a little overboard? And I happen to have proof that while the amount of energy generated from the reactor in Midgar is more than enough to light the city up like a Christmas tree only half of it is provided to the citizens. So where does the rest of it go? And this is only Midgard we're talking about. There are same sized reactors with identical output in regions with far smaller populations and still there are places that are without electricity. So what happens to the rest of it? Seems suspicious as fuck to me." She smirked as she brought her hands together in front of her joining the broad sleeves together. Andrew was such a dear for digging all that up. It also brought the so-called Promised Land higher on her list.

The elder looked at her in a new light. He didn't know that. Also what was a Christmas tree? "Oh ho ho. Now that's something new. And how did you come by this information if I may ask?"

She in turn giggled "I have a friend that's a very good hacker."

Bugenhagen laughed as well "I see, that explains it. Would you perhaps happen to know anything else pertain to Shin-ra's ambitions?"

"My you sure like gossip, don't you? I actually happen to know a lot of things." She snapped her concealed fingers silently, erecting a privacy ward around them. She had spotted a head of gelled back brown hair when she glanced a bit to the side. 'Suck on that, you sociopath'.

"Oh ho ho, such as?" the old man seemed oblivious to the subtle piece of magic happening around him.

"Well, I know that the lifestream consists of the souls of the dearly departed and that the President seems very keen on finding something called the Promised Land. That last bit I don't know what to make of." And she really didn't. It sounded very much like the Christian faith's tale of Moses, the land that Moses took the liberated Jews after they left Egypt. She thought it a bit too much of a coincidence. "I mean, I know what the Promised land is.-" she didn't _this_ one "But I don't know what the Cetra are or how they play into… this."

The old man frowned in concern. "So they are after the Promised Land, eh? I should have known." He seemed grave for a minute. "Very well. We'll continue this more privately. I imagine you'd want to stay away from prying eyes." He gave her a knowing look.

Well, he only _seemed_ oblivious…

linelinelinelineline

When they reached the planetarium Bella felt secure enough to dispel the privacy ward. She placed a silencing one on the room's entry points instead.

"O ho ho. You're a cautious one, aren't you." The elder chuckled and made himself comfortable near a panel.

She shrugged indifferently. "Nah, not really. But I am paranoid." She said making him sweatdrop.

"I see." He quickly cleared his throat. " Let's get to the point right away, shall we. I recognize that you have a lot of things to still do, right?" he smiled sincerely and she returned it. She had a crap-tone of loose ends to tie up. "That would be appreciated. Thank you for your consideration." She answered and did a deep bow, out of habit really.

Elder Bugenhagen raised an eyebrow in surprised intrigue. That was a particularly Wutaian practice but she couldn't look any more different from Wutaian. He coughed to clear his throat. "The Promised Land is a mythical location believed to hold infinite amounts of Mako deposits. I shouldn't be surprised that Shin-ra craves it. It is part of the Cetra legend. If you wish to know more about it though, you should see my dear friend Hargo. He knows more on the subject. As for the Cetra, they were an ancient race of people, a deeply spiritual civilization, who traveled the Planet, healing and cultivating it by guiding the flow of the lifestream."

Ok. That explained a lot of things. The Cetra obviously wielded a great amount of power over the lifestream and by extension the planet. It reminded her of Shamans, who were the link between the mortal and spirit realms and were practically tasked with protecting the balance. Actually…

"Where they protectors of the planet?" she asked the elder.

He looked at her, surprised by her leap of logic. "Why yes, young lady. They were. You're quite intuitive."

'Oh believe me. It's nothing of that short. I just have more context to work with.' She thought ruefully. Death did say that this was the world closest to her own but she did _not_ imagine it was _that_ close. Oh, the elder had resumed talking, better pay attention…

"They were able to communicate with the planet and that is what the calamity from the skies took advantage of when it came to the planet. It mimicking the voice of Gaia and turned them against each other until they managed to seal it away. At this point however their numbers were decimated. There are supposedly none of them left today." He gave her a knowing look. Goddammit! Did he think she was a Cetra too?

"If you're implying what I think you are, then no, I am not a Cetra." She decided to nip this one in the bud. At his disbelieving and still knowing stare, she decided to take a leap of faith. She had a good feeling and her feelings were rather accurate. Plus, she needed more people on her side that actually knew what was really going on. And Bugenhagen was a wise man. One who obviously loved his home and clearly wanted to protect it. So…

"I am not even from Gaia actually. I am a witch from another world, from a planet called Earth." So she proceded to conjure two perfectly comfortable armchairs, a small table and a tea set and took out some of the tea leaves she always carried with her. It took everything she had not to burst out laughing at the old man's face. She decided that she liked surprising people like tha-aaaww shit! She had spent too much time with Zelretch!

She shook herself mentally and sighed. They had a long morning in front of them.

linelinelinelineline

It was noon by the time she left the planetarium and she had all sorts of theories. Next stop was Elder Hargo's house to either confirm or invalidate her suspicions. Because the parallels were too close.

If you took into acount that the lifestream, something that the Cetra allegedly manipulated to some extent, were the souls of the departed waiting to be reborn, it drew a disturbing amount of parallels. It all depended on what Hargo would tell her about the Promised land.

linelinelinelineline

She wished she was more surprised and mortified when she finally departed. This was bad, Goddammit! At least this time she finished early as she had opted not to tell Hargo the truth about herself. If Bugenhagen thought it prudent he would do it himself.

Oh Merlin the situation was worse than she imagined.

linelinelinelineline

She arrived at Cindy's ten minutes later. The old woman was probably alone but she had taken care to carry enough for the entire cycle of ladies.

Quickly schooling her features to a pleasant smile she knocked on the older woman's door. Clattering and muffled voices and eventually approaching footsteps were heard and a mere minute after knocking, the door swung open revealing Cindy's kind visage. But she wasn't smiling.

"Are you leaving?"

She felt what hope she had that this was going to be easy wilting.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I am. Tomorrow morning, perhaps tonight if I can manage it. I need to be in Costa del Soll in a couple of days. How pray tell do you know? I'm not exactly advertising it and I was coming to say goodbye." She answered, almost nonchalant.

Cindy's lips raised in a smirk. Bella had the impression that she wouldn't like the answer.

"Oh you know, just that wonderful boy, Fuhito. He dropped by saying that he had overheard that you were leaving and he wanted to see you before you left." She threw back with just as much nonchalance, so intentionally fake that Bella felt that she should applaud the woman for not bursting out laughing halfway. She herself had trouble containing her snickering. "Come on in dear, Sheila is here and wants to talk to you also." Bella felt a shiver in her spine.

The witch stepped into the home and quickly headed towards the living room where Sheila was calmly sipping her tea in all her raptor glory. Immediately, her sharp eyes pinned her down with a scowl. Another shiver ran up her spine.

"I don't know what Fuhito told you but it's most probably a lie." Bella rushed to compensate but Sheila's scowl shut her down when it intensified. "Sorry."

"At least you decided to say goodbye." Sheila drawled. "I do hope you keep in touch." That was an order. For the umpteenth time that Bella's known her she fought the urge to stutter a habit induced "Yes, Professor!"

"I fully plan on sending letters. You've already seen Hedwig."

There was a pregnant pause before the old crow inclined her head in an affirmative gesture. "Acceptable." And Bella breathed again.

She moved to sit on the couch, propping on shoulder on the armrest "So what did Fuhito have to say about me? He practically ambushed me last night singing praise to AVALANCHE. I got the rather distinct impression that he was trying to get me to join" Well that _was_ the intention behind the ambush. "Cut him down to size quickly though, yes I did! And it was glorious! Why, the look on his face would have made even our wallflower Anne cackle." Bella said giddily wit a self satisfied grin, perfectly fitting of a cat that not only ate the goldfish, but blamed it on the dog too.

"He mentioned you had a rather enlightening conversation. He "slipped up" though." there were air quotes on the 'slipped up' and Cindy rolled her eyes so hard she should have had peoblems with vertigo. "Apparently, "too bad you lean more towards Shinra policy"". Her voice deepened mockingly, mimicking the man's statement. " I wanted to slap that prik so bad! Thank Gaia Sheila was too far away or _she_ would have. And then I would have had to clean blood off my walls!"

"Which beggs the question, what exactly did you say to him?" Sheila's calm, if strict tone at the comment, conveyed what both of the old women _really_ wanted to know.

Bella relaxed even more on the couch and her smile morphed into the – by now named – "Black Smile". "I did nothing but point out a couple of flaws in his plans and expressed my opinion concerning the lack of efficiency and forethought in their actions. And also called him an incompetent buffoon before making a timely and spectacular exit while having the last word. It is no fault of mine if he can't take a little bit of criticism. I expected him to be used to it considering his line of work." She waved the hand not supporting her on the armrest to the side nonchalantly.

Cindy was chuckling while Sheila's cup was suspiciously covering her lower face.

"You must have made him feel threatened. This _is_ a place staunchly against Shin-ra, he must have expected to be treated like a hero or something like that." Their host said as she deposited a tray with tea and some cookies for the witch an took a seat in an armchair to her right. Bella graciously thanked her and took a sip. Yep it was her tea.

Bella sobered up "To be honest Cindy, that was my intention in the first place" she lowered her cup from her face to her lap, a finger absent-mindedly tracing the delicate rim of the porcelain. Her reflection stared back at her. "That man makes my skin crawl."

The silence that followed only served to confirm her accusation.

Sheila placed her cup on the table with a light clink. "The others will be here shortly. You will stay to bid them goodbye, won't you?" the look in her eyes told Bella that it wasn't negotiable. She didn't mind.

"Of course, Sheila."

linelinelinelineline

An hour later she was leaving Cindy's house when a clawed hand stopped her.

Bella was startled as she turn to look at the austere woman, only instead of the ever present stern scowl on her face she was presented with an expression of pure worry. "I know very well that you can take care of yourself. I also know that you don't belong here." Bella stiffened in surprise "I'm not going to ask the why or the how, I just want to know that you're not biting more than you can chew."

It was so surreal, seeing the fearsome woman so openly worried about her, so reminiscent of her old teacher. She couldn't stop the warm smile that bloomed on her lips. She wanted to hug the woman, reassure her that it was going to be okay but she restrained herself. "Telling you to not worry would be useless. So I won't. Instead I am going to be completely honest and tell you that I am extremely aware of what I am up against and my odds concerning that. Thus, I have taken action to make sure that I am covered from all possible fronts."

Sheila raised an eyebrow, her expression reverting to her normal scowl. " I sincerely hope that this is not false bravado speaking."

Bella just laughed. "No, Sheila, it isn't. Are you going to tell me how you know I don't belong?"

She stiffened, if only minutely. So that was a "no". No matter. Bella could put two and two together. "No worries, you don't need to tell me. I think I have enough brains to figure it out. It's so nice to know that you actually have a heart behind all those bird of pray feathers." She winked at the old woman who just leveled her with an unimpressed stare.

"I see that there was no need for me to worry. Do whatever you want." And she turned around, walking away.

"Aw, Sheila!" she run towards the woman engulfing her in a hug from behind very briefly before ducking back to avoid the old woman's claws, laughing all the while.

linelinelinelineline

This time, when she spied a head of gelled back brown hair she didn't even bother to continue walking. Instead she ducked out of sight behind a house and apparated to The Tent. Inside, the occupants have been prepared for the move, as in prepared to spend the entire journey in the rooms in the trunk, because, somehow those two were plausibly connected.

As it was, Bella was perfectly content with not sleeping tonight just to get moving all that sooner. Not that her fellow residents knew that.

"Ok, people. Are we ready?" she pumped her arm up in over exaggerated enthusiasm.

A resounding "Yes!" had her smiling.

"Wonderful! Padfoot, you return to your post. Since the sun hasn't set yet, let's start moving. Please head towards the designated areas. Once the tent is packed the corresponding space will not be accessible so be sure you have everything." She recapped, ruffling Cloud's hair fondly when the adorable blonde gave her a playful salute. He would be flying with her until his bedtime.

Once everyone was properly stationed she packed the tent and shrunk it with a wave of her hand and mounted her broom along with her little passenger. She made sure to secure the blonde to her front with the strap of her trunk and, in a stroke of mischief, took out her wand and cast a communication spell with a twirl. It would be boring if she couldn't communicate with her passengers.

"Now, without further ado, I welcome you, Lady and Gentlemen aboard the Firebolt and thank you for choosing Potter airlines for your travels. The captain informs you that the flight from Cosmo Canyon to Costa del Soll is ready for takeoff and wishes you a pleasant journey." She jokingly announced and kicked off the ground in break-neck speed.

Cloud's excited whooping and laughter fueled her own just as excited laughter as she pushed her broom to even higher velocity, her eyes glowing with happiness.

linelinelinelineline

It was now two days before their meeting in Costa del Soll and they were hitting a bit of a hurdle.

How the fuck were they going to take the time off for all three of them? And for enough time at that?

Let's start from the beginning. Genesis was about to turn in for a glorious, and rare early night in, when the phone on his bedside table, the same phone given to him by Bella went of _just_ as he was about to fall asleep.

Yeah. Awesome.

Turns out she wanted to tell him to book two weeks of vacation.

How? Just how was he supposed to do that? They were Shin-ra's top three SOLDIERs and war was on the horizon again. How?!

At least that's what Genesis voiced to the insufferable woman when she called, _two days before the meeting._

Even Sephiroth looked incredulous when he heard that. Whose emotional range is so miniscule it borders on just shy of nonexistent. But then again, he's been seeing an entire new side of his friend thanks to the quirky lady. A side not even Sephiroth knew existed.

His friend had miraculously showed up on his door _at that exact moment_ to ask to use the coffeemaker because his was busted and he was in for a long night of paperwork. Hell, his emotionally stunted friend _snatched_ the phone and waltzed out of the room with it. When he came back he looked _harrowed._ Then, he proceeded to make _three_ pitchers of coffee and left with a grunt of "Thanks".

Apparently, in the end, it was not that hard. At least for him and Angeal. Seph took the brunt of it.

Genesis didn't know, nor did he want to know what miracle Sephiroth pulled. Sephiroth didn't look too keen on repeating it either.

Mostly because it involved the woman's equally as insufferable owl.

Linelinelinelineline

She hung up the phone giggling. Oh poor Seph. Having to deal with the board of old codgers. She would have to send him something nice and helpful.

Just as she was about to pocket it, it went of again, indicating an incoming call.

She looked at the caller ID. 'Oh boy. I don't know if I want to do this right now…'

Nevertheless, she picked up, brought it to her ear and braced hershelf. It would be worse if she ignored it.

"Hello there Nadeshiko." She greeted with trepidation.

" _Hello there my ass! Where the fuck have you been?"_ Yep, she was angry.

"Well….it was mostly an accident…" she answered nervously "and I guess I just…forgot to call?" she immediately regretted saying that.

" _What the_ fuck _do you mean you forgot? The mansion blew sky high and you dropped off the face of the earth for almost_ two _months and you say you_ forgot?" yeeeah…when put that way it _did_ sound bad…

" _And I had to learn it from the fucking fox too!"_ Oh yeah, because that was the worst of the whole situation…

"If it makes you feel better I didn't really call anybody to inform them about this…whole…deal.» she was pretty sure she was looking crazy right now, gesturing with one hand hand while balancing the phone between her shoulder and her face _and_ holding the broom with the hand corresponding to _that_ shoulder. Not mentioning the fact that it was a hazard. "Aside from Sei-chan. I really wouldn't have, but this was Zelretch's doing and the damn vampire has long since stopped answering my calls and he was probably my only way back. I didn't really plan for it to devolve into what it did. I'm sorry for worrying you and the rest of the team. I know that you all have your own problems and I didn't want to add mine on top." Her face dropped as her voice lowered. She hasn't been a very good friend so far, has she?

A sigh was heard from the other end of the line. _"There you go again. How many times do we have to tell you that it is okay confiding in us because we_ like _worrying about you in that case? That's good worrying. That's good team rapport and kinship. It's when you_ don't _tell us about these things that we start worrying in a bad way. That is plain and simple "Is the girl ok or am I gonna have to bust her out of_ another _stupidly self inflicted fuck-up again" kind of thing. See the difference?"_

Bella laughed "Hello pot, my name is kettle. Ain't that a funny sentence, Miss I-Refuse-To-Give-My-Teamates-My-Family-Name? And I don't get myself in _that_ bad messes." she teased.

" _Fine. Whatever. Maybe I should have put Tsukiyo on the phone. See how you like her lectures, or perhaps Yuri's hellish guilt trips. You haven't had one of those recently, have you?"_ the other snarked back.

Bella just kept laughing "Thanks for worrying about me Shiko-chan."

" _Yeah, yeah, whatever. Anyway, what do you mean by 'devolving into this'?"_

"Yeah, about that…I was going to call you eventually. Long story short, Zelretch dumped me in a different world called Gaia, that's very close to our own, were the people are unknowingly using the planet's life force, consisting of the souls of the dearly departed, as an energy source, while at the same time there are people infected by the cells of an imperialistic alien bitch. Oh and there is an extinct species of human that I think were shamans originating from our world." She explained, halfway through realizing that she really had no place denying the situations she got herself in. "Saying it out loud it _does_ sound bad."

" _Ha! You think?_ _What's up_ _with_ _you and these FUBAR situations?_ _Anyway, explain in details and I'll call the other to schedule a video chat to see how we can all help with this new mess."_ At least she didn't sound pissed anymore. _"I suppose you are helping the infected ones, right?"_

"You know me so well." She giggled at her friend's long suffering sigh.

linelinelinelineline

With their speed, Bella and her party reached Costa del Soll a day early. More than enough time to set up shop and establish a cover.

Well, more like for the others to set up shop, because Mrs. Strife enlisted Vincent, who in turn enlisted Cloud's puppy eyes to get her back for the all nighter she pulled to get them there, and get her to rest.

So the Strife matriarch and the Chaos Vessel found a big enough hotel room and set up in accordance to the witch's orders, while said witch spent the day exploring with Cloud.

Since the Strifes' records were erased with Andrew's interference and they were living without relying on Shin-ra's electricity thanks to Bella, they were practically non existent. That meant that even if they were spotted, there was no name to connect to them so it could just as easily be considered a case of similar looking people. And because there's no such thing as overkill, a couple well places _fidelio_ 's made sure that nobody made that connection. And this is were Bella established her own cover, by simply changing her hair and eye color to match Cloud's. That way she could claim to be his sister. Both of them had great fun with that idea.

Of course, exploring didn't mean that they couldn't cram some lessons into it as well. That's why when it became evening Bella took her invisibility cloak, cast a notice-me-not charm on her and Cloud and set of to explore the back alleys. It's never too early to start on escape tactics, and spatial and situational awareness are never bad skills to have.

Hell, with how adamant Cloud was with joining SHOLDIER he was gonna need it. If her little brother wanted to be SHOLDIER then he was gonna be the best!

The smirk that found its way onto her face when she vocalized that was downright predatory and it had made Cloud shiver.

Perhaps the DA was right when they called her a slave driver...

linelinelinelineline

 **Soooooooo what do you think? Again, I like your honest opinions. If it feels rushed, I'm sorry but university's been crazy lately.**

 **So I said this before and I'll say it again. I try to update monthly and if not then I'll surely update the next month. If I miss a month that means that I am busy with university. I think I can have another update in June but July is ambiguous because exams.**

 **Also look forward to a couple of extras next chapter;)**


	12. Chapter 12

**Weeell…this is late. I'm sorry people but when I was about to post it I had no Internet and then I got sick because of the ship's a/c. Joy.**

 **Please enjoy this chapter!**

 **Sil~**

 **Chapter 12**

Vincent was nervous. No, scratch that. He wasn't nervous, he was _terrified_. Terrified of this confrontation. Terrified that he could hurt his son. Terrified that his son could hate him. And say that didn't happen out of the bat. How was that conversation go? Hi I am your father and for almost two decades I was too busy being scared and feeling sorry for myself to come meet you? Yeah, because that was going to go great.

Pause for irony.

Well, that was how that train of thought would go two months ago. Today, that train of thought got derailed when he got _jumped_ by Sirius, in the form of a very big dog, which he had been informed was called a Grimm, and then transported to a rooftop, via the very disturbing method of being swallowed by darkness. Emphasis on _swallowed_. Between the utter alone-ness of it and the death like suffocation, pressing on all fronts he preferred Bella's feeling of being dismantled and wrongly reassembled while being pulled through a too small tube.

That was something he'd never thought he'd consider.

Back to the dog though. Sirius had turned back to a human (was he even human actually?) at some point, perched on the edge and patted the space next to him. 'Why not?'

Vincent sighed but sat on the edge nonetheless, but opted to sit cross legged rather than dangle them of the edge like Sirius. "What can I help you with Sirius?"

"I know that face. I know what you're thinking. I'm telling you now, get it out of your head." He snapped with finality.

'Wai-'"Excuse me?"

"Did I stutter? What you're thinking? Forget it." Sirius had a tone on his voice so unlike the goofy and happy man. There were times that Vincent forgot that the person in front of him was a Reaper, but now, his visage screamed that the-time-for-joking-is-over-and-you-better-listen-to-me-or-else.

That _this_ one was a Reaper? That, Vincent could believe.

Might as well get it over with. If he was lucky it could be relatively painless even.

"I don't think I am ready." He said plainly.

Sirius sighed. "I highly doubt that anyone in your shoes would be." He paused, as if trying to find the words. "But…you know- nobody's forcing you. I'm sure we could find you something to keep you busy-" the scraggly haired man stopped when he glanced the absolutely poisonous glare Vincent was shooting him "…oookay, scratch that." He scratched the back of his head and exhaled harshly, the breath coming out pushing his head backwards until the Reaper's spine was completely straight and his head facing up towards the sky. "Let's try something else. _Why_ don't you feel ready?"

Vincent took a bit to think the question over. _Why_ indeed. He remembered what Bella had told him. ' _The_ _only_ _crime_ _you_ _committed_ _was fall in love.'_ "I feel like I should have done more. Like I could have done more. If I had been more cautious, more prepared-"

"Could have-should have-would have. If we start with that rabbit hole we're never gonna finish." Sirius cut him off. "And you're hearing that from someone with more than a few regrets." he took a breath "Get comfortable. You're gonna hear some stories."

linelinelinelineline

They stayed on that roof for hours. Vincent learned the story of Regulus, Sirius's little brother, who sacrificed himself so that a maniac would be stopped. All in vain because another fell due to that most _vile_ of traps. He learned of the betrayal of one Peter Pettigrew, one of his _best_ _friends_ that resulted in the death of Bella's parents and her staying with her Aunt because Sirius got framed for the murder of the same two faced bastard which led to her sending her childhood in a _cupboard under the strairs, beatenandstarvedandabused –_ and of course, how Sirius died, leaving a fifteen year old Bella alone in the world _again_.

And all of that Sirius was blaming himself for. Because _If only I hadn't driven my baby brother away, maybe he would have been alive today. If only I had stayed the Secret Keeper, I was dodging the Death Eaters fine, Lilly and James would still be alive. If only I hadn't gone after that rat then my little prongslet wouldn't have to suffer with those animals. If only I had been more careful, I wouldn't have left her alone._

By the time they were finished Sirius was surprisingly calm. Relatively, but calm still. He had not cried once and that was kind of impressive. A fortifying breath and the Reaper look at him with an expression of softness, like talking to a dear friend. "Look, bottom line in all this is that it could have been worse and if I can have such a wonderful relationship with my goddaughter then so can you with your son. You're not alone in this Vincent and should you ever need help we would all be glad to provide." A hand was placed on his shoulder and while such a gesture in the past would be unwelcome and awkward he found himself not minding this time.

Iinelinelinelineline

Cloud was running as fast as his little legs could carry him. A drainage pipe caught his eye to his left and with a sharp turn he was running down the side alley towards it. He reached it in seconds and started scaling like his life depended on it.

He reached the roof and chanced a look behind him. No one, thank Gawd!

He paused. When had he started using God instead if Gaia? He quickly shook himself back to reality. He would contemplate his existential crisis later. He quickly reached the edge and checked the distance. Good. Possible. He took a running start and leaped, landing and ending in a seamless roll. Compare to Cosmo Canyon and it's ungodly sharp edges this was a piece of cake.

Next was a chain link fence next to another pipe. He used the pipe to reach the top of the fence, which he balance on to cross. This one was a bit tricky especially with the occasional piece of metal sticking out on the top. Even trickier was the small run he had to take to get to a good enough height to reach the closest window. Of course, if he fucked that up that would mean a busted open skull and he would rather not.

This side was a bad one too. Too close to the mouth of the alley and he could get seen. Nothing catches attention like a small child dangling from a window high of the ground, no matter how much under control he had it. Bella-nee would be so disappointed too if he caused an incident, today especially. It seemed though that people were focused in front of them on something just beyond the mouth of the alleyway. Huh. Peeking over the window to make sure nobody was watching he quickly scaled to the next one vertically and finally the roof. Another glance behind him. Still nobody. Very good.

He was about to jump over to the next roof when he caught something from the corner of his eye. Three somethings, actually. Three very uncomfortable looking somethings whose discomfort seemed to grow by the second.

So that's what everyone was so focused on.

Cloud opted to offer assistance. He could let nee-chan catch him. They could play cat and mouse any day.

linelinelinelineline

They were all very uncomfortable. Considering who they were that they would find themselves in this situation was a no brainer. But still! This was supposed to be cathartic vacation. Couldn't the fangirls take a break too? Genesis could guess what his friends were thinking too.

Angeal had plastered an indulgent smile he reserved for the more…difficult…cadets, the you-are-a-complete-and-utter-idiot-but-I'm-going-to-pay-attention-to-you-cause-I'm-a-good-person-and-you're-too-pathetic. None of them could pull that one off too… It was too smug on Genesis' face and on Sephiroth it was downright scary.

Speaking of, they should find a way to leave quickly cause said General was letting of signs of extreme discomfort and get-me-the-fuck-out-of-here vibes.

And then the sky opened and salvation rained down from the sky!

Or, more specifically his phone, the one Bella gave him blared, signifying a message, _oh-by-the-Goddess-thank-you-so-much_!

" _Hi, Cloud here. Distraction in 20", run to alley in 8 o'clock."_

He just managed to convey _something_ to the other two before something black fell in front of their feet, exploded and he witnessed the best smokescreen if his _life_ as the world was sunk into darkness.

Iinelinelinelineline

The alley had a sharp turn to the right that cut them from the street's view. They took a couple of quick breaths before completely relaxing.

Sephiroth summed up what they were all thinking. "What was that and where can I get any?"

A giggle answered them from high up and their heads swirled up to the source. There, on the edge of the roof over them was Cloud with his legs swinging carelessly over the edge.

"Wow, you run fast!" he gushed with a sunny smile.

"Only when the situation calls for it, I'll have you know! How in the name of the Goddess did you even get up there anyway?" Genesis answered back.

"Jumped of a roof, across a fence and scaled two windows." Was the carefree reply which received blank stares back.

"I…don't know if you are kidding or not."

The little blonde laughed. "Let me get down and we'll take it on foot normally." He said as he moved a little more to the right and then _dropped off the edge,_ grabbing a hold of the ledge of the window under him and after a series of drops was on the ground safely.

"' _Infinite_ _in_ _mystery_ _is_ _the_ _gift_ _of_ _the_ _Goddess'_ you were not kidding." Genesis massaged the bridge of his nose. Still he walked toward the small blonde. "Are you sure you should be moving so much in this heat?" he clearly remembered the kid's flimsy attire in Nibleheim's arctic climate and Cloud was currently wearing a _hoodie_. Something that was _warmer_ that a simple tee.

He was about to place his hand on Cloud's head to ruffled the boy's hair but stopped just an inch before. Bewildered he slowly raised his hand away from the boy's head and brought it back down slowly. And again.

"Genesis? What are you doing there?" Sephiroth's drawl broke him out of his trance.

"Tell me Cloud, how is there a layer of cool air around you?" he asked, ignoring his friend's question. His own question had probably answered it.

Cloud tilted his head a bit to the side, hesitating a bit. "Well" he started "I should be suffering from heatstroke. As a matter of fact when we first arrived in Cosmo Canyon, way back then, Bella didn't even let me outside until she made sure I wouldn't pass out. So she made me a charm." He held up a pair of dog tags which he fished out of his hoodie. "This regulates the heat around me."

"So it works like air conditioning." Genesis almost jumped when he heard his friend's observation right next to his ear. It seemed that Sephiroth had decided to approach and was peering over his shoulder. And the kid had noticed it too cause he was staring up at the hero of Wutai with wonder in his wide blue eyes.

"Yep. Pretty much." He shook himself off quickly and answered and finished it off with a smile.

Ok. First, props to the little guy for actually answering. Second, Oh By The Goddess! When had the kid gotten so adorable?!

"Is that so?" he asked to verify even though it was unnecessary.

Cloud raised an unimpressed eyebrow at him, the nerve! "Yeah, I just said so." He even crossed his arms!

"No, just checking." Genesis replied cheerily. He was sure that both Angeal and Sephiroth were looking at him weird. He _was_ acting weird.

He quickly picked up the kid eliciting a yelp to further fuel his amusement. " _Wings of light and dark spread afar. She guides us to bliss, her gift everlasting"_ he sighed in bliss at the cold layer air wafting of off the now disgruntled blonde.

Said blonde realized that we was holding on to him tightly due to his surprise and he theatrically tried to distance himself. That in turn took the cold a bit away. "Don't wriggle around so much or I might drop you." He jokingly threatened.

"All the better for me! You're sweaty. Ew!" Cloud whined.

" _My friend, the fates are cruel."_ He grasped at his heart with his free hand as he started moving forward. "You know there are others that would kill to be in your position." He lectured.

In return, Cloud wriggled more and turned trying to claw over Genesis's back. Oh, how cute! "I couldn't care less! I'm not one of those crazy fangirls of yours!" he sniped.

The red haired Commander made an affronted sound and turned to face the blonde, still futily trying to escape. "Are you implying that my fans are crazy fangirls?" he chose to ignore the fact that both of his friends were laughing at them. And fucking Hell, _Seph_ was actually _laughing_. You don't get to see that every day.

"In his defense, Gen, they are a bit…of a handful" Angeal managed to get out.

"You shut up, traitor!"

"Just as crazy as the object of their affection, I say" Cloud was extended towards the back now, no longer struggling. "Mr. Sephiroth, Mr. Angeal save me! I'm being manhandled by a crazy!" Aaand they were both gone, laughing heartily, so much so that they were starting to lag bdhind. Angeal was actually using Sephiroth as a stand.

"I'm not crazy!" Genesis raged in mock offense.

The blonde stopped struggling and very slow and methodically turned and looked him in the eyes with the most serious face he had ever seen on a 9 year-old. "Really, man? You recite the same poem at anything that moves and are, also, _way_ too invested in the very same piece of poetry in a, dare I say, _obsessive_ way." He stressed.

"He is right Gen. You are a bit obsessed." Angeal was still trying to reign in his laughter. Sephiroth had managed to reduce it to chuckling.

"Why, Loveless is a veritable work of art!" Genesis started. "And it is far more than a mere poem."

Cloud just gave him a dull look and patted him pityingly at the shoulder. "Ah-huh. Ok, whatever helps you sleep at night. Just remember that if you start hearing voices that tell you to kill, not to listen to them." He said dryly.

All efforts Angeal was making to suppress his laughter failed and Sephiroth wasn't much better. They had closed the gap and were now directly behind them.

"Don't worry little one. We will be there to make sure of that." Sephiroth ruffled Cloud's hair but didn't retract his hand immediately. "It seems that you weren't exaggerating Genesis." He said in a considering tone. He ignored the triumphant "See!". "I'm starting to miss the cool."

"Come to the Dark Side. We have air conditioning." That caused them to chuckle again.

"That's one way to put it kid. So which way to your sister?" Angeal asked.

"Take a right here. Though she should be on her way. We were jumping roofs together."

"Isn't that a bit reckless? She _is_ hunted down by Shin-ra. Wouldn't…jumping roofs…as you put it draw attention? Why are you even doing that for that matter?" They had found him on the roof, but still.

"You go tell her that. But she's made herself unrecognizable" he shrugged "Oh and it was her version of "tag". One of her more enjoyable methods of training." He added.

Genesis snapped his fingers in remembrance. "Oh right! You're nine."

"What, your memory starting to go _too_ along with your sanity?" the blonde jabbed.

"Wow kid, you're brutal." Sephiroth chuckled. "And rather verbose for a nine-year old." He mused.

Cloud tilted his head to the side. "Really? I don't notice. Everybody treats me normally back in the Tent. I suppose I read a lot. And my names Cloud. Cloud Strife." Seems that Seph was falling for the kid's cuteness too cause he was smiling as he ruffled his hair again. "Ok then. Cloud." a pause and then Angeal picked up the chain of thought. "Tent?"

"You'll see." Cloud chuckled.

That was a bit…foreboding.

"That sounds foreboding" Angeal unknowingly voiced Genesis' thought.

"Yeah." The redhead agreed. "Why don't we save the foreboding shit for when we reach your sister? ' _My_ _friend_ , _the_ _fates_ _are_ _cruel_.'"

"Nah. Don't worry. Bella herself is very confident about it and she can be a mistress of negativity." The blonde waved him of.

"You call it negativity, I call it realism." A voice coming from directly over them caused them to startle. All of them tensed at the sight of an unfamiliar woman.

There, at the edge of the rooftop was a blonde woman with distinct blue eyes. He legs were hanging over the edge just like Cloud's were and she was leaning down, looking at them with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

Wait a minute. She had answered to Cloud's comment…

"Took you long enough! Where were you, stuck in a chimney?"

She rolled her eyes god naturedly. "Had to take a couple of calls and schedule a few video calls for later." Then she shrugged "Also, I was giving you a decent head start. Wouldn't be a fun chase otherwise." Then she looked towards Genesis. "I thought we left the hostility in Nibleheim Genesis. What, haven't seen me in a month and already forgotten me?" she pouted at him.

He managed to get his bearings quickly enough. " _'_ _Dreams_ _of_ _the_ _morrow_ _hath_ _the_ _shattered_ _soul_.' You'll have to excuse me but the woman I met had black hair with green eyes and no tan. Cloud was right. You're unrecognizable." He shot back at her.

She laughed. "Magic's wonderful, isn't it?"

"That it is. What brain breaking feats you have for us today, I wonder." He lamented.

She giggled "Let's get back first, shall we?" and she leaped of the roof, floating down to the ground gently and landed with the softest of "taps". Than she brushed of the dust of her long, flowing skirt. For some reason, while yes, he could pick up the basic characteristics he could not grasp details. Well, not exactly. He could grasp them but the moment his mind went to name them he drew…blanks. Her eyes were _ blue and _ shaped, hair _ blonde, tied _. Her skirt was long, _ blue, _ patterned with _, her top was a bikini, _, _. Strangely the same brain had no problem attributing the problem to heatstroke.

He had a headache. And by Sephiroth's twitching eyebrow and Angeal's stare he guessed that they were facing the same problem.

He closed his eyes and rubbed them with his free hand. "Why do you feel the need to fuck with my head every time I have to deal with anything related to you?" because really. Why? Don't get him wrong, it was ingenious, and if his brain was not _hurting_ so badly he would be all over her, trying to get answers her to spill the beans on how this worked and how to replicate it. Fuck, his two friends probably had the same though.

She laughed nervously. "In my defense I am mighty paranoid and have had _a lot of_ practice with these spells." She ran a hand through her hair "Cloud dearest, if you would?"

They were now looking at the little boy. What could he have to do with this.

Cloud opened his mouth and with a clear voice spoke "Her name is Rayne Strife, my big sister." And suddenly everything was clear. Her features came into focus. Eyes still sharp in a piercing pale blue. The angles of her face softer, kinder, almost innocent. Nose dotted with freckles barely visible on her tan skin. Big, golden, loop earnings adorned her ears. Now blonde hair was tightly tied high in the back of her head where it fell in loose curls. Pink bikini top with little indigo flowers that matched the indigo blue skirt with white lace. Barefoot.

Holy fuck, how had they all missed this?

"Spell's called " _fidelius"_ with a " _suggestion"_ in the end by the way. Fiddly little things but extremely useful when applied correctly together, don't you think?" the mischievous glint was back.

"I'm referring you to Genesis' previous statement." Angeal spoke blankly and almost exhausted already. He sounded like he was out of "fucks" already.

"How did you do that?"

"What materia did you use?"

Sephiroth and Genesis asked at the same time both intrigued and more than a little disturbed. _'Oh, the chance to walk freely in the sun!'_

And, oh yeah, hopeful.

She _giggled._ "Let me do a quick little charm so you won't be noticed and you can interrogate me all you like." She pulled her wand out of…somewhere and paused when they tensed "Can I? Or we can take the roofs?" She was offering them options.

"Actually, let's take the roofs. Back alleys they may be but we can't be sure there are no cameras." Angeal offered and Sephiroth nodded his consent. Bella - or Rayne – didn't look offended, just smiled.

"Ok. This way."

linelinelinelineline

"Bliss!" was the first thing outof Genesis' mouth the moment he passed the door(window)frame of the hotel room and by the sighs he heard behind him the others agreed with him. His train of thought was interrupted by a rather firm hit in the back courtesy of the little boy still perched there. And a painful one too. Nailed him right in the lung.

"Good. Now let me down" he seemed a bit harried...

Genesis coughed as he moved out of the way to let the others get in and gave him a withering stare. " _'My friend the fates are cruel'_ indeed. Should I pass you over to Sephiroth since you dislike me so?" the boy looked alarmed now.

"It is rather because he likes you so much." Bella answered in Cloud's stead as she accepted Angeal's hand, ever the gentleman, as he pulled her through the window. At their inquisitive looks she elaborated. "Mama Strife is _scary_. Pretty sure she is related to the dragons so infamous in Nibleheim."

Genesis blanched "You sure about that?" he wasn't about to be cowed by a housewife.

It was her turn to give him a withering stare. "Fine. Don't believe me." She raised her hands in surrender.

Sephiroth interrupted them. "Where is everybody else. I had the impression that you had a bit of a caravan." The luxurious room was completely empty sans them.

She laughed slightly as she motioned them after her and she moved further in towards a wall separating the bedroom area from the rest of the room. They rounded the corner to see her fiddling and raising a quilt placed on the wall to reveal a door...that should not be functional unless you wanted to look at the bricks behind the tapestry.

"That is not functional." Genesis drawled.

Angeal slapped the back of his head lightly. "Yeah. Sure. Because from all the space manipulation mindfuckery you've seen _that_ is the most improbable."

"I wouldn't be surprised if there's a mansion behind that." Sephiroth was rubbing the bridge of his nose until he heard Cloud give a snort. He stilled and turned to face the boy. "That was a joke." Cloud laughed.

Just then the door opened and a young man with brown hair and eyes, dressed in an old fashioned suit appeared in the doorway. He stopped abruptly when he saw them his eyes switching between them quickly before stopping on "Rayne". "Hey Boss. You're back early. Anyway I gotta go back to management for a moment to settle a couple of messes with my old post. Be back when I can." and then turned to Genesis. "You should really let him down. Mrs. Strife can be scary." and then moved away from them before seemingly dissolving into black dust mid-step and dissapearing.

"So it's not just you. Peachy." Genesis spoke after a bit of silence, staring at the place the man had just dissappear from.

She giggled again and held the door open for them ro pass. "We all have our talents" she replied cryptically.

Whatever they could possibly have said to that was swiftly forgotten when the actually noticed the _inside._ In front of them was a large hall with _two_ floors and full of doors on both left and right. The two floors were connected by a grand stairway in the middle of the hall.

There was a long, deep maroon carpet under their feet that muffled their steps all the way from the entrance to the second floor. Over their heads hung an elaborate, grandiose, crystal chandelier bathing the room with almost otherworldly rays of light as every little crystal sparkled with a hidden inner radiance.

A different radiance caught their attention and they turned towards the source. "Rayne" had stopped walking and straightened her back with a couple of soft 'pops'. Then slowly lowered her arms as glittering golden dust gently flaked off of her starting from her fingers. A golden border slowly rose up her arms revealing slender fingers with long, perfectly manicured, deep purple nails first, then extensive tattoos, revealing rare glimpses of pale, porcelain arms. Eventually the ends of her hair caught it too and the pale blonde started giving way to deep ebony. Her disguise was wearing off.

Her hands lowered all the way and her fingers intertwined. "Ok, so that's that with the glamor since I am going to need the magic" she muttered to herself. They caught it nonetheless, what with their hearing being this advanced. Then turning to them "Cloud, could you please lead our guests to the sitting room while I prepare refreshments? Any preferences gentlemen?" she gently swayed back and forth on her heels with her hands clasped behind her back. She was the picture of innocence, nothing like her reputation, or the just so impressive display _only_ _a_ _few seconds_ _ago_.

"' _Ripples from the water's surface, the wandering soul knows no rest'_ just tea is fine. I have fond memories of your blend." Genesis was the only one remotely capable of anything resembling speech so... "Angeal likes tea too but not to strong and Seph will just take the strongest coffee you've got."

She bobbed her head in affirmation "Wonderful. Be back in a sec." and she disappeared in one of the doors.

"Was this how the first meeting went?" Sephiroth inquired incredulously.

Genesis' laugh sounded very close to crying.

Linelinelinelineline

The moment they opened the door of room Cloud directed them to, they were hit with the smell of herbs and a sense of cleanliness and calm.

On one wall there were two large screens with a long couch facing them. On the opposite corner of the large room there was a long, wooden dining table with a vase of beautiful flowers. In the middle of the room there was a low, black, wooden framed table with glass surface, surrounded by another long couch, a medium sized one and an armchair. All the padding was red velvet on shiny black wood with elaborate carvings.

In the middle of the table there was a small ceramic plate were a small, slowly burning branch was perched, probably were the scent was coming from.

"Your sister really doesn't go halfway, does she?" Angeal whistled, studying a cadle holder mounted on the wall next to them that blended so seamlessly with the flowery wallpaper it looked like it was coming out of the wall. But then again, with Bella, you could never be too sure.

"Nope."

Genesis finally put Cloud down, who quickly darted away and hid behind Sephiroth who while surprised at first, quickly chuckled and ruffled the boy's fluffy crown shooting his friend a smirk. Genesis shot them an irritated stare in return while Angeal patted his shoulder with a chuckle. They finally went to seat themselves, Genesis on the corner of the big couch, where he proceeded to drape himself like some king, Angeal rolled his eyes and took the other end and Sephiroth, wordlessly took the medium one. They were so very comfortable… Where did this woman get her furniture?

"I want a of couch like this." Genesis murmured wistfully as he relaxed in the soft pillows.

"That's arrangeable." Bella said as she entered, a large tray in her hands. "I see that Sirius and Vincent did a fine smudging of the room." she voiced as she looked around the room finally resting her gaze on the ceramic plate on the dining table. She was pretty sure she saw the General twitch a bit. A snap of her fingers and it vanished only to reappear on the big table. "Cloud, could you please go bring Vincent?". She placed the tray on the small table and deposited cups, kettles and plates with cakes, fruits, biscuits and syrupy sweets all of it a delicious mixture of scents.

"Ok." The little boy dashed out.

"' _There_ _is no hate, only joy, for you are beloved by the Goddess'_ you are spoiling us." Genesis spoke eyeing the mosaic cake and cookies.

"But you're not complaining." she winked at him as she pouted their tea and coffee.

"Course I'm not." he responded as he took a sip of his tea and sighed in content. "Go on." he gestured at his friends "They'll get cold if you don't."

"I could always reheat them if they do." she laughed as she perched on the armchair, tucking her legs under her and floating her cup towards her with a gesture. She plucked it out of the air and took a sip. That was what the other two seemed to be waiting for as they picked up their own cups and hesitant took a sip as well. The tension dissipated from the both of them immediately.

After a while Angeal took the lead. "We need to talk."

She took one more sip and deposited the cup and plate on the air next to her as if it were a solid surface. "That we do." She agreed. "So what do you want to talk about?" she asked.

"Let's start with how you came by all the information you gave us." Sephiroth set the question.

"' _My_ _friend_ , _your_ _desire_ _is_ _the_ _bringer_ _of_ _life_ , _the_ _gift_ _of_ _the_ _Goddess_.' That is a good question. Back then you said that you stumbled upon them but never went into details." Genesis reminisced. "You said that you wouldn't be able to live with yourself if you didn't do something." He mused.

She gave a soft smile. She knew that they were still suspicious of her, even if they had reached this point. "And that is the truth. I went to Nibleheim to take a look at the Reactor, heard of a supposedly haunted Mansion, so _of_ _course_ I had to investigate and in the end the Mansion ended up being some kind of archive for Shin-ra's science department. I met Vincent, locked in a coffin in the basement and then you came along" she gestured to the redhead "and the rest is history." She shrugged " Even if I had Andrew hack into the Company database for you to come along, I wanted to make sure that the appropriate information would be given to the appropriate parties." She winked.

"I knew it" The Crimson haired man rubbed the bridge of his nose with a groan. "Andrew?"

"The guy that just left"

"Ah." He nodded "Were you perhaps responsible for the Blackout too?" he hazarded a guess.

"Why, I don't know what you are talking about" the cup obscured the lower half of her face but everyone knew she was smirking. The look in her eyes, even when closed, was telling enough.

Yeah, no. "Ah-huh." Angeal couldn't be more deadpan even if he tried.

A cough came from the General's direction "When this is over, us two are going to be having words." He was still trying to clean up the mess and his overtime had overtime.

She had the audacity to _laugh_.

"Ok. That's the burden of idleness gone. Why go through all the trouble of making a cure for us. You've never met us. You don't know us outside of what Shin-ra lets out." Angeal decided to bring the conversation back on track. "By all means, with just that information you've destroyed any love we could possibly have had for Shin-ra. Whatever grudge of yours there is left is practically fulfilled. So why this? From what we heard it wasn't easy on you."

She was about to answer but another voice cut in. "If you're looking for a selfish motive then you are not going to find it here. She likes helping people. It's just what she does." Vincent strolled into the room in all of his gloomy, vampire glory, followed closely by Cloud, who was carrying a medium sized kit. "Also, if you're trying to inject logic into _anything_ she does, I implore you to stop while you still have your sanity." He deadpanned, directing the last bit towards her. "I'm Vincent Valentine. Nice to meet you." He added as an afterthought.

She pouted at him and puffed her cheeks. "Muuu. Vincent is being meaaan~I'm not that bad!" she ignored the chocobo conspiratorially muttering "Yes, you are."

Though his eye were almost covered by the red cloth the deadpan look was completely visible. Cloud's deadpan on the other hand had nothing to obscure it so they got the full force. "I recall a certain encounter in Nibleheim that highly contradicts that."

She stuck her tongue out at them and Vincent rolled his eyes as he leaned on her armchair to her left. He shot a minute glance at Sephiroth only to see his son looking at him curiously. "So you mean to tell me that she hacked into Shin-ra, worked to the point of collapse to help three people she did not know and is currently putting herself in danger, with the possibility of no reward, just because she wants to?" All three of them were looking at the witch, sipping her tea obliviously in incredulity and disbelief. When she noticed their looks she blinked and tilted her head to the side, her wide eyes creating a striking resemblance to her beloved owl. "What?"

Vincent directed another deadpan look her way. "See how implausible that sounds?"

Her brows furrowed in a small frown and she blinked at him a few times quickly, like she was fluttering her lashes. Vincent looked back at them. "See what I mean?"

Cloud shrugged "She's an angel, like that." He handed her the kit and she handed him her phone, which he eyed with what they imagined was distaste, they couldn't really tell, before strutting out of the room.

"You are not kidding…" None of the three SHOLDIERs commented on the angel part. Let's not burst the kid's bubble.

"Before we get down to business, what exactly _is_ your beef with Shin-ra?" Angeal voiced what they had all been wondering, trying to at least figure the woman out a bit.

It was her now that was wearing the deadpan look. And it was scary and at the same demeaning on her. As if asking Really-now-you-need-extra-incentive-you-dunderhead?.

"Well," she started with a sweeping motion of her hand "Other than the fact that the Director requests _and_ allows the sick, depraved fantasies of psychopathic mongrels with barely a competent knowledge of human anatomy and a lobotomized sense of morality to run the fucking _Science_ Department, that he fully knows the exclusivity of his product and shamelessly takes advantage of the people in need of it because it keeps the monsters out at night, also that his greed is so great that it is not enough that he has the majority of the fucking _planet_ under his thumb, he just _needs_ to subdue the small minority outside of it that wasn't hurting anybody, due to what I can only imagine is some other greater inadequacy. Also, also, Shin-ra, left unchecked as it is, is marching with great speeds and efficiency down the road of completely _killing_ the planet. Or don't you know what Mako is, the energy everyone is so reliant on, not that I blame them. I think that tidbit was also included. You have a head, why don't you do the math. What did you think the motive was?" she looked truly bewildered as she explained in the most deadpan tone in existence.

"Please, I was just getting over that last bit, no need to hammer it home more that it already hammered itself." Angeal ran a hand down his paling face and his two friends looked just as pale.

"Please, people, we already have a hard time in front of us as it is, let's try to stray away from making it unbearable."

"I concur with Genesis" Sephiroth took a big gulp of his coffee. "And for your question, what little information we had pointed us towards you being another one the science department's projects that managed to escape. I know _I_ want to burn everyone involved alive." He muttered darkly and took a calming gulp. "Seems we were severely mistaken."

She sighed and gazed sadly into her coffee. "Not completely wrong, unfortunately. My case is that of my entire life being dictated by others' agendas without ever given a choice so I sympathize. When I figured it out it was far too late to do anything but keep on marching. When I stumbled on these files I thought that I could at least try to succeed for someone else where I failed for myself." She smiled bitterly, looking at her reflection on her cup. She seemed to be folding in on herself, so much smaller than depicted from her earlier bravado.

A hand was placed on her shoulder. "You did not fail for yourself." Vincent offered softly. As far as he was concerned, she looked Fate in the eyes, spat on her feet, gave the bitch the finger and walked away with her head held high.

She only chuckled bitterly. "You are oddly wistful Vince. But you and I both understand that I was mot meant to survive the last bit in the end. I did _not_ originally. I only got through by the skin on my teeth and because of a Deus Ex Machina chance that, had I been even a bit worse than I already was, I wouldn't have grasped. I just wish that the Dumbledore I punched in the station was the real one and not some dying breath, wish fulfillment hallucination." The three SHOLDIERs were trying to become one with their assorted piece of furniture. It was so very sobering and heartbreaking to know that such a strong woman, that had practically declared a war on the biggest company of the world and was so far _winning_ , had at some point been so broken that she hadn't wanted to live. It resonated with all of them deeply. Brought back up memories of blood and dead bodies and trenches and _loss._ That they would have to relive because the world was ruled by _scum_.

Vincent was not satisfied "The reality is that you did though. Miracle or not. And that counts as a success." He pressed.

"At this point I am not sure what it was. Manipulative old bastard." She sighed and leaned back. "Fuck, this has gotten edgy. And dark. And depressing. Where were we?" ' _Did she just bounce back up?'_

"Don't bounce back like that." Vincent sighed in exhaustion. ' _So_ _she_ _also_ _has_ _self_ - _worth_ _issues_ too. _Hang_ _in_ _there_ _Vincent_.' She rolled her eyes at him and turned back at the rest of them "Sorry if this got unbearably awkward." She scratched the back of her head with a nervous laugh.

"And speaking of unbearable, lay it on us Doc. What do you got for us." Genesis sacrificed himself to the awkward beast.

She smiled. "Nice segway Gen. So without further ado…" she snapped her fingers, making a couple of papers and vials appear in front of her. "As you can see gentlemen, this is a two-parter solution, simply because I couldn't fit everything into one compound." She lifted a vial containing a deep sea green viscous liquid. "This is the part that will start rapidly destroying the Jenova cells along with the infected ones" and then raised a paper with a complex array "and this here is going to be working in conjunction with the potion to kickstart the reproduction of the healthy cells and then speed it up. The runic matrix goes first and is activated at the same time with the potion's consumption. That's because we want their action to be simultaneous. During the start of the process the array is going to need energy, usually taken by the one receiving it, but I am going to be providing that and it's gonna last an hour. I'll explain in a bit. If you feel tired still the consumption of a Pepper-up potion is going to be required but that's so rare it's really not worth mentioning it. I do anyway cause I'm professional. From then on the array is going to be fueled by the energy produced from the death of the Jenova cells and your own energy because we are basically refurbishing your entire cell structure. It _is_ going to be tiring. If you feel tired, again you are to take another Pepper-up. Before you ask about the possibility of error, I have already done all the calculations and all the planning and am confident in telling you that these possibilities are absolutely miniscule. If they do happen I am going to be noticing it and fixing immediately and with relative ease. Questions before I move to extra details?"

"Aaah…"

"If you feel concerned about the array I can tell you from first hand that they are very successful." Vincent offered.

"Why would you need an array put on you?" Sephiroth asked alarmed. This _was_ hisfather after all. Both of them were taking it exceptionally well…

The man sighed. "I was one of Hojo's…'projects'" he spat the word in disgust. "To make an extremely long story short, I ended up locked up in a coffin with no less than four demons implanted in me. Four presences in the back of my mind whispering and promising destruction if they ever got out." Alarm turned into horror. "And while most people would be panicking at learning something like that, apparently, where she is from, suppression arrays are routine jobs. Who would have thought…" he shot the woman a dry look who rolled her eyes fondly. "Ever since she put the array on me I haven't heard a world." He pulled his hair to the side to reveal a small circle on the base of his neck.

Sephiroth let out a silent breath of relief. "How exactly does it target the cells and are there any lasting consequences?" he had the feeling that the 'routine' part only led to insanity.

"Glad you asked General. The wording of the array you see, is specifically put so as to target 'these that do not belong', to save you the technobabble. As for consequences, there is separate wording stating 'that the new units are to evolve accordingly to accommodate the organism's specific and previous needs.'. It's lost a bit in translation but when it comes to runes let me tell you that they are very specific and accurate." She tried to explain as best she could.

This time it was Angeal who voiced his uncertainties. "But how are you sure that you can achieve that degree of accuracy?"

"That's cause I'm the best in my field of course!" she dismissed with a giggle.

That was a loaded claim…

"Ok. What else is there that we need to know?" the dark haired Commander asked, far more relaxed that when the conversation started.

"Only that you would need to stay in an environment with a stable concentration of magic to further fuel the arrays so where we're doing it is where you're staying. That leads me back to my previous statement and it's because this place is saturated with my magic. If I provide the starting push and you stay here, the easier it will be for you and the array to provide power for the process, absorbing the ambient magic if needed. Also if those unimaginably improbable chance come up, I'll be noticing it in the flow of magic." She stated.

They all thought on that for a bit. On one hand Bella was able to disguise herself but bringing her back to their room would make all kinds of noise. Also there was still the possibility of it linking "Rayne" to them and bringing her alias to the attention of Shin-ra. The thing is, how comfortable _were_ they staying in an unknown environment with unknown people and putting their lives on their hands. The other option for lodging though was not leaving the hotel.

Decisions, decisions.

Then the Crimson Commander made his decision. "I'm staying here."

"You sure, Gen?"

He looked at his childhood friend. "Yeah. I am. I don't know but, there's something telling me to trust her. We've reached this point after all."

His silver haired friend stood up and placed his hand on his shoulder. "Then I will trust in your judgment, Genesis."

Genesis gave his friends a determined nod and turned to face the witch who was smiling at them, the tilt on her lips so sincere and reassuring he almost stumbled with his words. "Ok. When are we doing it?"

Now the smile turned mischievous. "Right now, if you want."

"What?"

"Did I stutter? Now strip." With a snap of her fingers the table extended towards her to accommodate the kit and whatever she took out of it.

" _What?_ "

She leveled him with an unimpressed stare. She had paused in the middle of setting a miniature cauldron on a base. "The array is going to take space because it's big and the more space I have to work with, the better. Don't worry we can cover it when we're done. I only need your back by the way."

"Uhh.."

"What are you waiting for Gen? You were pretty sure a couple of seconds ago." Angeal was teasing him. Seph's hand patted him on the shoulder, delivering his own words of 'encouragement'. "I know that women can be intimidating, but you can do it"

"Both of you, shut up!"

"Come of it. I've seen plenty in my life. Don't worry, I will be professional." Bella was now stirring a black mixture. When she was satisfied with it she took he wand and dragged it across her palm causing it to bleed. She clenched her fist and dropped a liberal amount of blood in the cauldron which she then stirred again twice.

"What are you making now?" Genesis was a bit mesmerized and at the same time disturbed at the casualty of the process.

"Making the ink."

"And why are you adding your blood in it?" Sephiroth asked curiously.

"It conducts the magic better." She had now taken a small glass cylindrical container and was filling it. Then she lifted her other hand in the air and with a small gesture a pen flew to it from the dinning table at the other end of the room, nearly skewering Vincent in the process. He glared at her but with no real heat behind it.

Wait, no. It was a very elaborately decorated quill. She pressed the ink in its position and then she looked back at them, now putting on a pair of black, seemingly leather, fingerless gloves with very delicate embroidery. "Come on." She gestured impatiently.

"…Fine, whatever." He started removing his loose black shirt. "Any advice Doc?"

"Stay still and I am not a doctor." She raised her hand again and a laptop flew into it. She opened it and pressed a couple of keys. "But don't worry about that either. My team doctor is going to be watching the process. Along with one of my friends. He helped with the whole project so he wants to see it through." She pressed a couple keys and after that she reached into her kit, retrieving a pair of black fingerless gloves. The material looked like leather. The surface was adorned by small, indistinguishable designs, that glinted on the light as she put them on.

"You have a team? And how are you not a doctor? With the degree of knowledge you have to be calling Hojo and Hollander idiots?" Genesis was so weirded out he didn't even bother with poetry. This woman was talking about altering their genetic fucking makeup but she was no doctor. Yeah, sure.

She paused. "Well, it's a bit complicated. I am both a Potionsmistress, which is basically chemistry and Pharmacology, and a Runesmistress, which is the art of achieving incredible feats by drawing squiggly lines in a formation, the squigglier the better." She laughed a bit at that. Probably self-sarcasm. "When we receive our mastery, on both subjects, we are given the choice of taking an extra couple of courses to qualify as medical practitioners acting in the boundaries of our chosen professions. That way somebody can be diagnosed and given aid in one go. However the term doctor is too much of a blanket term for out cases. There is a way to figure if the problem is solvable with runes or potions so we deal with things under our jurisdiction. As you have guessed I have taken and passed these courses and am thus clashed as a practitioner of Runic and Concoctionary Medicine. However, it is not that knowledge that gives me the ability two call those two the miserable pieces of excrement masquerading as humans that they really are. What gives me the ability, nay _right_ to do so, is the _basic_ human biology that I was taught _outside_ of a magical setting along with every other non magical human being back home. I have the books that my friend Stella was given when she was _seventeen_ if you want to take a look." She took a deep, calming breath. "This is why my team doctor is going to watch." She finished her explanation.

"The thought of more of you frightens me." If he didn't stop, Genesis was going to have a bruise between his eyes..

With a smirk Bella turned the computer so that it was facing the direction of the large couch. There was a window on the screen with a generic User image. "We're connected!"

" _Gimme a sec to fix the image."_ A youthful male voice came from the speakers. A second later the window corresponding to their side came up, the image pristine as if in real life and the face of the other speaker popped up with the same quality of image.

" _Hello there gentlemen, my name is Gakusei Fujiwara and I am a certain witch's partner. It's nice to be finally putting faces to the people me and this dork were helping."_ The speaker was a man looking like he was in his late teens to early twenties with redder than red, straight hair and liquid golden eyes. He looked of Wutaian decent, with cunning narrow eyes, accented by bright red pigment, high cheekbones and sharp chin. He was wearing a beanie over his hair and they could see longer than normal, sharp canines when he talked.

"Nice to meet you too Mr. Fujiwara. I'm Angeal Hewley, this is Genesis Rapsodos and this is Sephiroth-"

"Valentine." The silver haired man interjected. Vincent's head shot to him so fast there was a crack on his neck from the vertebrae protesting the sudden movement. They locked eyes for only a moment and resolved to talk after. Angeal shot his friend gave him a look. "Yeah… Thank-you for working on this." Angeal continued.

" _No problem man. And for the love of Amatershu, no Mr. please. Makes me feel old."_ Gakusei laughed in a carefree manner. _"And I am this girl's partner. Whatever she does I get pulled in too in varying extents."_

"Are you the team doctor?" Sephiroth inquired.

The redhead on the screen laughed loudly. _"God no! I am the Curse Breaker."_ He said proudly, pointing to himself.

"Curse Breaker? Excuse me but how are curses involved?" the black haired man asked incredulously.

Bella was the one who answered that as she came closer, entering the frame. "There is a little wonderfully horrific piece of magic back home called an Entropy Curse. Rots you from the inside out, slowly and painfully. I based my research off of it." She paused at their horrified looks. "Eh?"

"Are you serious? Why does something like that exist?" the horrified poetry enthusiast exclaimed. "Great Goddess Minerva! What sick mind could this horror have come out of?"

Bella chuckled nervously. "Well…considering how much I had to study the damn things…I'm pretty confident in saying that it probably was a Black creation. You sure _do_ find such gems in the libraries. Regression Curses, Misery Curses, Prometheus Curses. Officially nobody's come out to take ownership of that particular one though."

Gakusei laughed derisively _"Do you blame them? With how much of a monstrosity it is? Thank_ _God we_ _were_ _not_ _alive_ _back_ _in_ _ye_ _olden_ _days_ _were_ _they_ _were_ _throwing_ _the_ _things_ _like_ _confetti._ _And I think that the Regression and Prometheus ones should be just as punishable._ " Both shuddered.

"Ye olden days my foot. Sirius quite clearly remembers his _dear_ mother throwing the things at the family members she didn't like. After the autopsies of three second cousins came everybody started staying away from the Matriarch and should anyone get caught up in her tantrums they went to Curse Breakers immediately." She looked so frustrated. "At least, thanks to these asshats we know how to combat them." Then she perked up. "Actually, the cure for Regression Curses could help with curing Alzheimer's. Sei-chan-"

" _On it."_ The man was writing furiously off screen.

"Her own family members?" Angeal was the most obvious in his horror. Genesis was just the most vocal. But for all three the SHOLDIERs, harming family was absolutely horrible. It was the major issue Sephiroth had back when he thought Hojo was masquerading as his father, and he now had no problem stabbing the bastard should the opportunity present itself.

" **Blacks** " the two teammates stated simultaneously. _"Even worse,_ she _is the current Head of The Black Family due to the last Head's Will."_ The Curse Breaker pointed to the resident witch.

"Joy. But Walpurga was a bit crazier that normal." She was anything _but_ happy. "All the leftover bullshit I have to deal with…Btw Sei-chan~ this gets out…" she trailed off with half lidded eyes and a wide, _wide_ smile that was absolutely _terrifying._

" _Yeah, yeah_."

"By the way where's that rabbit?" she checked the time. Just then another window popped up revealing a bubbly looking girl with a huge smile on her face. _"Ohayou! Bella-koi!"_ she chirped in what sounded like Wutai.

" _Speak of the Devil."_ Gakusei snarked with a smirk.

" _Urushai! Baka Inari!"_ the girl snarked back with a cutesy frown.

"English please, Yuri. Us three are the only one who speak Japanese." Bella cut them off with a fond smile while rubbing the bridge of her nose. 'Wait, Japanese?'

The girl giggled. _"Ok! Sorry about that, people, that I don't know yet. My name is Yuri Fuhaishinai. Just call me Yuri!"_

Shin-ra's best thee were staring at the little girl, she couldn't be more than seventeen. The young girl had pure white hair with very light blue tips in a bob cut and very light blue eyes making her eyes look even bigger Her skin was also very pale, even more than the General's and her lips were painted an iridescent baby blue. If she was a doctor, she was the most friendly doctor they had seen in their life.

"Hello little Miss. I'm Angeal Hewley, this is Genesis Rapsodos and this is Sephiroth Valentine. Are you the Doctor?" Angeal asked. Perhaps she was the doctor's daughter?

" _Yep!"_ No luck then...

"Um, pardon me, but, you seem a bit young." Genesis was looking even less sure now.

" _Aw, don't worry. I'm babyfaced."_ she dismissed him with a wave of her hand. None of them looked convinced.

" **No, really. She's older than both of us"** Bella and Gakusei spoke in tandem again.

"Let's start already." Genesis just wanted to be done so he could laugh at Angeal when it was his turn.

" _Great idea. Is the camera gonna catch everything?"_

"Don't worry Sei-chan. It's one of the good ones." Bella answered as she gestured Genesis to turn so his back was facing her. "Would you perhaps like it better if you lied down?" she directed at him.

"' _There is no hate, only joy'_ I'm going to be fine." He waved off. She nodded and got to work. Genesis felt a faint tickling sensation on his back followed by a mild cooling effect. Weird, considering how sharp the quill looked. Overall not a bad experience.

" _That sounded like poetry. Are you a fan, Mr. Rapsodos?"_

He turned to face the screen depicting the feed of the small woman that had asked him only to be taken aback by the look of intense concentration she was sporting. Her previously wide eyes were now narrowed and glowing an icy blue so bright they resembled burning lanterns but still so _cold._ A side glance revealed that Gakusei's features had twisted into the same expression, his eyes similarly glowing with the force of the sun. "Yes as a matter of fact I am. And please no Mr." He managed to answer without stuttering. The implications of both of the new people having eyes like a SHOLDIER's lay heavy in his mind. Taking a look at his two friends who were watching curiously the procedure he could see it in their eyes that their thoughts had taken a similar direction. "But I'll have you know that Loveless is far more than a simple poem." A groan resounded from his side and he turned to glare at his childhood friend. "It is an epic, left open to interpretation since the last act has been lost, a veritable work of art, but I think it's actually a prophecy." He cheerfully gave the finger to his friend who didn't even try to hide the anguish in his next groan.

" _Is that so? It does certainly sound plausible but I'll have to study it myself before I get back to you about that theory."_ The albino haired woman answered and he could have cried. Finally someone who _understood_ and was willing to listen! " _Bella-koi, find a copy and send it to me. It would certainly be a great read during the night shift."_

Bella gave her a brief look of confusion. "Didn't you take private, indefinite leave after being the Hospital's Director for a couple of years? Why do you need to work the night shift?" ' _Wait. This girl was the_ director _of a hospital?'_

The now recognized as Hospital Director – who whoulda' thunk – gave a long suffering sight, taking her eyes off them very briefly. " _You should see this year's batch of residents. Arrogant little shits if I've seen any. Can't trust them with anything without a minder. And on a fucking Dry Spell too. Can't trust them but you don't have anybody to monitor either. It's a nightmare."_ She whimpered and wailed.

"What do you mean by Dry Spell?" Sephiroth jumped on the chance to divert the topic.

Yuri turned to him _"I used to work at Magical Tokyo's Central Hospital. Unoriginal, I know, but it works. I took that leave to become a private healer but the Hospital can request for me to return if there are issues that require such attention. You see, we're Magical Japan's biggest hospital but in the latest years the numbers of general staff we have has dropped. Still though we have the best and there are cases where we have to send medics and healers to afflicted areas and when the need for practitioners is so great, there are staffing issues. That's what's called a dry spell. Here is monsoon season and we've had a couple of_ very _bad waves. Additional there was an epidemic alert last month that we still haven't recovered from and on top of that some idiot went and caused no less than_ five _floodings so the Hospital's facing a Dry Spell. Unofficially that is, because the residents are considered "doctors" even if the current ones are unbearable. You could say that it's a Competency Dry Spell. And if you want to get into the conspiracy theories then you can ask Bella-koi. She's been investigating that."_ She sounded incensed and rightly so. Only just…

"There's been no monsoon in three months and no flood in five. Also no places called "Japan" or "Tokyo". What are you talking about?" Sephiroth pointed out.

In turn, Yuri directed her curiosity to the tattooed woman. _"You haven't told them?"_

' _Haven't told them what lady!?'_

She chuckled nervously "Well, I suppose no time better than the present. So what are your feelings towards the multiverse theory?"

"Excuse me – what? "

Linelinelinelineline

How was this their life? How. Genesis was getting pitying looks of understanding because he really felt like crying. Not that _they_ could talk. They looked like they were having a stroke.

He didn't want to believe her. None of them did. Because that would mean accepting the insanity.

Too bad it made sense.

"Another world. Ok. What else is there?"

She giggled at Genesis' blank deadpan.

"I want to call you crazy. Believe me I do. But it weirdly makes sense."

"Aw Gen. Don't cry. I though Vincent warned you to leave sanity at the door." Tha-that absolutely _impossible_ woman was enjoying this far too much.

"There was no such warning! And let's say I believe you, while I understand that you are apparently here for a reason, you seem like you have no problem handling a completely unfamiliar world. It's been, from what you are saying a bit over two months. Yet you are so quick to move against the ones indicated by your objective _while_ taking a side trip to help us." He really wanted to wring his hair but he still couldn't move. "You are way to calm about this."

She gave a depressed laugh. "Yeah….I have experience dealing with a fascist regime. Lead by a genius at that. Compared to old Voldie, these people are child's play." her laugh became miserable. "Apparently, I did well the first time."

"You do something well once and then get saddled with it indefinitely." Sephiroth nodded in grim understanding.

"Story of my life. At least there are perks this time. Hail for competent backup."

"Tell me about it." The redhead Curse Breaker piped in.

"Why does capable help have to be so hard to acquire?" Angeal responded with a sigh.

"Can we get back to the point people?!" Genesis couldn't care less about his composure just about now. Something that's been happening with concerning frequently these days…

"Would it help if I told that I've been thrown into a different world with little warning before?" if she was trying to be helpful she wasn't doing a good job especially with the concentrated monotone.

"Is that a normal occurrence?" Sephiroth drawled.

This time she was deadpan. "Normally no. But if you study in Clock Tower, which I did for two years, there are...chances…that a certain Wizard Marshall decides to screw with you cause he's bored. Bonus points if you are the poor sap that he has decided to _grace_ with his tutelage. Which I am. And the longest surviving one at that. I learned first hand why that lunatic goes through apprentices like a woman goes through shoes. He's gained an...infamy…about his disciples ending up traumatized or crippled. Bastard's too much of a troll sometimes." If only she could see his face turning in incredulity and disbelief. Sephiroth's eyebrows were threatening to merge with his hairline. Angeal on the other hand, as a teacher, had a more obvious consternation etched on his face. She continued on though. "There was the one time that he dropped me in the middle of a post apocalyptic, zombie infested town, under the guise of "Adaptability in accidentally precarious situations" or some such bullcrap. Told me to not use my magic and left me with a hunting knife. How wonderful it was, trying to find other survivors while dodging the undead." She said sarcastically. "And since my luck tends to be really shitty, of course I end up encountering one of the few 'special' infected littering the post apocalyptic wasteland before I find the other survivors. Fucking thing busted my throat so bad my trachea was conected by a measly piece if tissue. How I managed to drag my ass to one of the shelters I still don't know. Also I learned that most of the video games I like so much are a _thing_ in parallel worlds. Bastard dropped me in the one corresponding to the Left For Dead games. You should see the tortured designation code they have given it too. #L.3F1-4-D340."

" _At least that looks like a stretch only if you write it down. The general naming protocol in these cases is that you take the words of the title and replace what you can with numbers resembling the letters. The techies have done worse."_ Yurimuttered.

That sounded like such a bad idea to name something, like a backronym.

"How and why would other worlds be appearing in their parallels as games though." The Silver General asked, intrigued at the prospect of other words no matter how surreal it seamed.

"' _Ripples_ _from_ _the_ _water's_ _surface_.' And on that note why name them like that. They existed before the...games were made, correct? Shouldn't they _already_ have names?" Genesis added his two cents.

"Also, why is such a person still allowed to teach?" no surprise, Angeal inquired about that part.

"Either a case of 'Muse' or a survivor. And it's not only games but also books, movies...if it's pop coulture it probably exists. The 'Muse' can be Generated, Natural or a glitch in the matrix, if you know what I mean. This is why there are game series like Resident Evil or Silent Hill that have absolutely brilliant installments and brilliantly flaming trash heaps of installments. The Generated ones are usually one-time things since they usually have consequences rolling behind them and the Natural ones usually have their creators hit a slump after the initial success. The glitches are vague at best and as far as the survivors' cases go, they usually have creative control taken away from them. It's how you end up with garbage like Resi 6 and Silent Hill Downpour." She muttered the last part. Still though, that was very interesting. Genesis was wondering if perhaps, now that he knew of them, he could spot dome points of interaction with other worlds.

" _Because Zelretch is a troll and the field techies are nerds"_ Gakusei deadpanned answering the Crimson Commander's question. Which wasn't much of an answer. " _You should see the team names they've come up. It's bad enough I have to experience them in the games now I get saddled with them in real life. Don't get me wrong, I afore some of those games to death, but it sounds so bad in real life."_

" _And for your question Mr. Hewley, it's because Zelretch still produces some of the best Magi to come out of Clock Tower."_ Yuri directed towards the darkhaired Commander _._ He still looked unconvinced and rightly so.

Genesis turned his head a bit towards Bella and sent her a smirk. "You have a team name?" She in turn sent him a withering stare.

"It's F.E.A.R. and it's an acronym, or backronym, whatever you wanna call it."

"That doesn't sound so bad." Angeal spoke surprised.

" _It_ _stands_ _for_ _First_ _Encounter_ _Assault_ _Recon_. _And if you consider what we do as a team, it's pretty accurate. How convenient that our team name spells out the feeling that's dredged up in all of us when something goes to shit. Which is almost always. And it almost always does so spectacularly."_ The Curse Breaker spoke in the most monotonevoicethey've _ever_ heard _._

On secong though, it _did_ sound bad. And everyone in the room knew what jumped up information the field techies could come up with.

" _Still though, it could have been worse considering what other teams names there are like H.A.W.X or God forbid .H.E.M.!"_ the cutesy girl directed towards her teammate. " _The first stands for High Altitude Warfare eXperimental, yeah, and the second, which is just, eugh, is Multinational AgencY Hunting Evil Masterminds. Are you cringing yet?"_ Their grimaces was all the confirmation she needed.

"The people responsible for the team naming are idiotically juvenile." Sephiroth summed up the thoughts of Shin-ra's three best. "You mentioned what you do as a team. What is that exactly if you don't mind me asking?" he continued.

"Actually, I am curious about that too. It was never really explained." And there is Vincent rejoining the conversation. They had forgotten he was there actually, shame on them. He was probably laughing at the proceedings from the sidelines.

"Yeah just a sec." she said absently while leaning back from Genesis. She placed he quill down on the table by their side and reached for one of the vials with the potion. "All done, honey. Here you go." She handed it to him with a jovial smile.

"Already?"

"Yep. Told you I was good." She smirked. "Bottom's up. Oh, and fair warning, it tastes horrible."

"Ah-huh…" whatever, all he wanted at this point was to get this over with. He took the cork off and went to down it. Only to take an accidental whiff of the thing as he did so. His eyes watered and he distanced it from his face as far as his arm could go. Oh by the Goddess did it smell _indescribably bad!_ It made him want to vomit. Actually it did smell like vomit. And literal shit. And you know what? He wasn't naming anything else. "It's going to be as bad as it smells, right?" he wheezed.

" _Potions tend to, yeah. Considering what goes in there."_ Gakusei replied _"General rule of thumb is that the worst it tastes the better it is for you. If it tastes good, then you have a problem. Probably poison. Or Love potion, so just as bad. You should actually be thankful because I know for a fact that Bella spent an additional day on it to make the taste a bit better."_

"I didn't want to know that! What in the name of the Goddess did you put in there? Wait no! I do _not_ want to know! And it could be worse?!" he wailed.

"It can't be that bad Gen." his childhood friend laughed at his misery. He in turn pinned him with a baleful glare. "Oh, wait till it's your turn buddy. Wait till it's your turn."

He took a deep breath, counted to three, gathered up all his courage and tipped the vial back and downed it in one go.

Instant regret.

The moment he had swallowed he doubled over with a hand on his mouth trying to keep it down. He coughed and heaved with shivers wracking his body. He didn't even notice the witch putting her hands on his back and mutter unintelligible words behind him.

Suddenly, there was a warmth start from his back and spreading towards his whole body and embracing him from head to toe. He felt the magic flow beneath his skin, the blood pulsating in his ears and he could _feel_ it rushing through his veins and in every little hair and then just shudder and vibrate. He felt warm and jittery and content all at the same time. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath and it felt like the cleanest air he had ever breathed. He relaxed.

"Gen?" his friends were staring at him.

"' _The wind sails over the water's surface, Quietly, but surely.'_ I'm alright Geal. I am just fine. It feels incredible, my friend." He leaned back to the couch with his eyes still closed, relishing the feeling.

" _That means that she did a good job."_ Yuri's playful tone reached them, breaking the other two out of their starting. _"If you could answer a couple of questions Mr. Rapsodos?"_

"Yeah, just gimme a couple seconds to relish the feeling."

She giggled cutely " _Silly Mr. You've got up to two weeks to do that, it's a long process you can imagine, but take your time."_ That made him open an eye and look between the two women.

"Is that why you said to take two weeks of leave? I though it was because you had to recover between, well, sessions." Angeal inquired curiously.

She gave them a smirk, and Goddess, they were starting to dread her smirks at this point "But didn't we just establish that Zelretch produces some of the best magi of modern times? Honey I don't sleep. How do you think I stay awake and out of comas until the _one_ time, around which I arrange my schedule? I feed on my magic, see? Believe me, I have magic to _spare_ especially fresh out of a cycle as I am."

"I apologize for saying this, but you know that can't be healthy, right?" the dry tone made her laugh.

"Funny of you to say this. Your father said the same thing when I told him." She said whimsically. She turned to the Crimson Commander and patted him on the shoulder lightly. "You get comfortable buddy and answer Yuri-chan's questions. Next!"

The previous topic was swiftly forgotten.

Linelinelinelineline

By the time Angeal's array was done Genesis had gotten mostly used to the feeling of magic rushing through him. Though he still had the _awful_ taste in his mouth. Bella to a look at the time and called for a pause.

"It's nearly lunchtime and I propose that you eat something now that your taste buds are functional. Gen's should be getting there too. You Ok with us having a braek to grab a bite?" she proposed.

" _That's a good idea for me too, actually. Haven't eaten anything since yesterday evening."_ Theredhead acknowledged.

" **Why?** " Both Yuri and Bella voiced in great bafflement and blank judgement respectively.

" _Flushing out my system and you, Bella have no right to look at me like that, you hypocrite. I had to deal with a rather nasty curse the night before. Thing with breaking curses is that it's not a clean job in any sense of the world. Your magic gets touched by the taint and if not flushed properly there might be a... metastasis, let's say. Fasting is what works best along with some other things and this one needed 24 hours so…"_ he explained fot the three SHOLDIERs benefit as he stretched his arms back until there were a couple of audible pops. " _Back in an hour?"_

" _Sounds good to me~"_ and the happy girl left the conversation without waiting for confirmation from her companions.

"Honestly that one." After a moment Bella run her hand down her face and then looked skywards as if asking for guidance from the divines. "Ignore her. What do _you_ want to do?"

Angeal shrugged "I have no objection to eating something actually, but shouldn't we get this over with as quickly as possible?"

"An hour isn't going to make any difference." Genesis stretched. "And I think I need a break anyway."

"Affirmative." Sephiroth nodded and downed the rest of his coffee after a bit of hesitation. He looked at his now empty cup with an unreadable look. Bella resolved herself to gift him a decent coffee machine and a barista set.

"Wonderful. Sei-cha-" I " _See ya in an hour"_ "-so since this room is used for other things let's move somewhere else. Ok?" she prompted as she sat up placing her quill down carefully as she went.

"Out of curiosity, how big is this place, and how do you keep it going?" Angeal asked as he put his shirt back on.

"Well, there were the two floors you saw, on the second floor there are two corridors that take you to the to guest wings, twenty rooms each and that's it for the second floor. The ground one has the gardens, the music and drawing rooms or whatever else you find in such places, the kitchens, a couple dining rooms, an auditorium, a theater…and that's it I think for the ground floor. Oh, and behind the stairs is the library and my room. And there are two basement levels which are dungeons, storage and my labs and I think a vault. Not too sure. I didn't buy the thing. And it's a spell called undetected expansion, kept up by wards and runes that recycle the magic so it doesn't run out and the place collapses. The door we went through is an entry point that is connected to my Tent. _That_ is the one with the spells and the place we are currently occupying. I suppose you could call entry points portals. There is another entry point in the one of the guest wings that leads to another mansion that I don't use much for living. I used it when I first came here to get some necessities since I use it mostly for storage. Oh and _that_ one is in the inside of my work trunk. Judging by your faces I think I am not explaining it right." Looking at them it seemed that had stopped working. She didn't know that she could witness a blue screen of death in this day and age.

"This is a _tent?_ " 'Look at that, they rebooted.'

She ignored them and bounced to a different room. "This way~"

Linelinelinelineline

Dinner was a surprisingly warm affair. They were welcomed with no hesitation and with open arms. It was new. And nice. And a bit awkward. But mostly nice.

Especially the encounter with Mrs. Strife.

The woman had stared at Sephiroth enough to draw attention. "Excuse me Miss-"

She had, in a flash, entered his personal space, still staring him down. Then she nodded to herself. "I'm sorry dear, but you are too pale to be healthy."

What?

Before anyone could react she had grabbed the poor man's hand and was dragging him elsewhere. "Let's eat in the gardens sweety, there's sun there."

The now manhandled man tried to protest. "That is not necessary ma'am." He could technically resist, his strength was by far superior to a mundane housewife, but something told him that would be a bad idea…

"It's fine." She swiftly shot him down with a dark, no-nonsense look. For a split second it looked like shadows gathered around her, encircling the visage of a snarling dragon.

Suddenly, resistance sounded like a _terrible_ idea.

Meanwhile the other two newcomers were left to stare in wonderment and apprehension. When the woman had finally dragged Sephiroth out of sight, the resident witch broke the silence. "Welp. You heard the lady. We're eating outside."

"Who exactly was that?"

"Mrs Strife."

Genesis gulped. He should be a bit more careful around her.

Linelinelinelineline

With the excitement over things went pretty well as far as Angeal was concerned. Though his childhood friend did laugh at the face he made at the potion. He didn't know that there could possibly exist something so horrible that could make the gruel Shin-ra tried to pass for food, _good_ in comparison.

" _That_ _should_ _be_ _okay_. _Take it easy now and don't forget to inform Bella-koi should you feel anything out of place."_ The doctor nodded in satisfaction.

"We will doctor." Genesis answered. "' _There is no hate, only joy.'_ We are very thankful for your help."

"Don't mention it. So General, would you like to undergo the procedure too. Get the cells out of your system?" she surprised them. They were under the impression that the cure was for the two "failed" subjects.

"Honestly, yes. But will it work in the same way?" because while there was nothing that he wanted more than to get the cells of the abomination out, he was not in any imminent danger and the cure was designed with a different situation in mind.

"Of course dear. I don't do things by half and I'd hazard a guess that you would also want out of whatever the imbeciles in the science department have in mind." She winked. "And let me tell you, those cells definitely don't belong no matter how integrated they are. So, what say you?"

Really, what _could_ he say?

 **Well this is late...in my defense I just didn't like the first couple prototypes and I wanted this yo be extra big to compensate for my absence.**

 **No matter. Don't be a stranger in the reviews, I read every single one and highly appreciate criticism. Also your reviews always make my day~**

 **Thanks for reading and have a wonderful day~**


	13. Chapter 13

**So I don't know if there's a running joke about my semester going like shit but there sure is now. Why, of course my remedial exams would be interrupted by something, and that something ended up fucking hospitalizing me because private clinics are full of imbeciles. They told us that I had Hepatitis! How? I've never had unprotected, well anything really. Guess what. I only had to get my gallbladder removed because of** _ **gallstones,**_ **but still!** **I'm way too young for gallstones! So here I am, two month after the surgery and still fucked up due to a weak immune system.**

 **Anyways on with the show, enjoy!**

 **Chapter** **13**

Stella woke up that day feeling like shit. Her head was heavy and hurt something terrible, she was unbearably cold and she was congested. And when she took a breath, her throat hurt and it felt like sandpaper. Just when she thought that something hot would be just what she needed, a vicious cough tore itself from her throat.

Wonderful.

 _Fuck_ ing A!

She finally got up from bed and, after patting around for a bit, found her glasses. She normally wouldn't need them, her morning routine was something she could do with her eyes closed. This time though the world was spinning - and she couldn't even _see_ it.

Halfway through breakfast she decided that it probably wouldn't get better.

Yeah, Stella wasn't going anywhere today.

Time to call Yuri.

Still, she knew everything would pay off in the end.

Linelinelinelineline

The bus stopped in front of a small station building, practically in the middle of nowhere. There were trees as far as the eye could see and no sigh of civilization for miles. And silence. The only thing heard was the chirping of birds, and that at a great distance. Even the engine of the in-dire-need-of-a-service bus couldn't disturb the tranquility. There, stood the tiny little brick house that served as a station, half dilapidated and full of graffiti.

Normally not many people stopped in this particular station, but there, in a stark exception, a young woman got off the bus. She had long, silky, black hair, so black it almost sucked the light in. Under a long, immaculately straight fringe two just as black eyes surveyed the world. But while beautiful, her eyes were cold and along with the perfectly plucked eyebrows that peaked under her fringe, they gazed on with indifference.

Her attire was a bit peculiar. A short, black trench coat with short, cape-like patches on the shoulders and a chain connecting the collar. The waist was high with a flair in the bottom, under which a black pleated skirt peaked out, and adorned with a simple belt. The buckle though, that was strange. It was a beautiful piece, a crescent moon decorated lavishly with two hibiscus blossoms in the thicker part and jasmines in the rest. It glittered silver in the morning sun.

The thick heels of her combat boots clacked on the cracked cement. "Are you sure this where you want to get off, Miss?" the concerned driver asked.

"Yes, quite sure." She waved him off carelessly, her voice, cold and indifferent, came muffled from behind her surgical mask. She headed towards the abandoned little house and disregarded anything else as beneath her notice.

A couple of steps to the doorway, or whatever was left of it anyway an eerie tune started playing.

 _Ding-dong_

 _I know you can hear me_

 _Open up-_

"Hello."

" _It's Tsukiyo. Where are you Nadeshiko?"_ the voice on the other end came hurried, almost distracted.

"I just arrived."

" _Good. Have you spoken with Bella?"_

"Not yet. She was busy."

" _*Sigh* Ok, keep me posted."_

"Will do."

She hung up with no further formalities.

"Quite sure indeed." If she hadn't had a mask on her full of teeth smirk would have been very visible.

Linelinelinelineline

She put the phone back into her purse. She knew Nadeshiko had hung up so it needed no checking. She had her own fish to fry.

She looked out of the taxi's window. Almost there.

She finally reached the harbor and the taxi stopped in front of the entrance. Such an ordinary sight for this location. Cars stopped just a bit to the side of the exits to deposit friends and relatives - we wouldn't want to inhibit traffic now, would we - if not continue inwards to the docks to wait to board.

Out of one such commonplace car stepped one not so commonplace girl. Her indigo tipped white hair were in an unruly bun on the back of her head and under seemingly windswept bangs a pair of stylish big sunglasses glinted in the sun. From one ear hung a peculiar chain with a spindle shaped crystal. She wore a tight, short, black, turtleneck with short sleeves. Small spikes and short fishnet pieces were lining the accents. She had a knee length, black, fluffy skirt decorated with white skulls and crossbones and under that ripped fishnet thighs with black leather ankle boots with chunky heels. On her hands were delicate looking lace fingerless gloves and her nails were painted a poisonous purple. A black, silk lace handbag hung from one of her hands by a leather strap. On her neck has a silk ribbon choker with a very elaborate metal piece, a wheel with intertwined flowers under which hung another spindle shaped piece of metal.

She easily ignored the stares of the people around her. Her hair drew attention in the best of days and combined with the black and the leather and the fishnets….yeah, no.

But then again, Japan didn't really bat too much of an eye at people like her, not beyond the initial reaction.

She had no luggage so after she tipped the driver with a smile, she adjusted her wide framed sunglasses took a step into the crowd and _disappeared_.

Linelinelinelineline

Sephiroth didn't quite know how exactly he had ended up where her was.

The procedure had been fine. The weird woman had been gentle. Almost overwhelmingly so. So far that was the most gentle anyone had ever touched him. Nothing like the cold and stiff feeling of the surgical gloves of the medical office's assistants and definitely nothing like the grabbing hands that pushed and prodded and _hurt._

On the contrary the edge of the quill didn't scratch nor was it uncomfortable. The edge barely grazed his back, bringing with it a cooling ticklish feeling of what was probably the ink drying.

Was that really the first gentle touch he could remember experiencing? He desperately run through every memory, every single interaction, and he came up empty. He admitted he wasn't a touchy-feely kind of person, but this…the closest thing he could recall were the friendly pats on the shoulder that Angeal and Genesis were prone to giving (and in Angeal's case those were anything but gentle, the man was basically a tank), which he had though fit that category, but those were more to the encouraging and/or proud side, he realized.

He wanted to whine when she finally took the quill away but pushed it down in favour of guzzling down the _horrid_ potion. Then he felt two soft, small hands resting on his back and _push_ andthenhis back was engulfed in an explosion of sensations and the world just _faded._ Both Genesis and Angeal described the sensation as a wonderful rush. An incredible warmth filling them with comfort and contentment. But _this_? This was so much more. Every single nerve ending was pulsing, every follicle tingling, and it was so _warm_ and _relieving_. The air he was breathing cleared more and more and _more_ to the point that it made all his life till now seem like he didn't have functioning lungs. And at the same time an intangible weight was lifting from his shoulders and suddenly it felt like flying was a logical possibility.

He almost moaned.

It must have shown in his face. When he opened his eyes - when had he closed them? - he came to face every other person in the room including the two in the laptop that Bella was holding at a suitable height. They had made a circle around his hovering with varying expressions of concern. His hearing was coming back now - why was he feeling it only _now?_ \- . Then there was a hand on his shoulder, probably, maybe - his sense of touch was not all there yet - and he decided that he should probably get his shit together sometime soon. After a few deep breaths he deemed himself mostly fine. Apparently not everyone else did, because next thing he knew Vincent and Genesis, with Bella on the lead and Angeal in the back, were hauling him across some halls, probably up a flight of stairs and into a room, where he was deposited onto the softest, most comfortable bed and sheets he had ever felt in his life, tucked in, and told to try and sleep the sensory overload off.

It succeed with pitiful ease and he woke up Gaia knew how much later. After waking up in an unfamiliar environment, and still feeling some of the aftereffects of the activation of the array, getting up and about was…a bit difficult. Which was probably how he somehow ended up hopelessly lost in an _observatory tower._

How? Just how?

He could actually oversee Costa del Soll. From a height that he could remember not a single building reaching. Then where in the hell was he standing? There was _clearly_ solid ground under his feet – he patted it down to make sure – but he could also see the hotel the witch's company had used for cover if he looked down! Still, where was the body of the tower or the rest of the supposed residence?! He was getting a migraine! And right now that was not quite welcome!

Which is how Vincent found him slumped over the railing.

"You seem a little better. How are you feeling?"

He glanced behind him to see his father – _his father! –_ coming to join him leaning on the rails. "Better. Still a bit dizzy. Did Bella say anything as to why my reaction was so extreme? I didn't see her too concerned." Or at least from what he could remember.

The other shrugged "Both her and the Curse Breaker said it was normal for such exacerbated cases. There was just too much too quickly." He paused and reached into the folds of his cloak. "Here." He handed him a green bottle about as big as his palm. "Pepper-up." He continued before he could ask. "I was told to give it to you when you woke up."

He eyed the bottle in distaste. It couldn't possibly be worse than the starter potion, right?

There was a chuckle beside him and he panned his gaze towards his father who was pulling a shiny black box out of his cloak. He opened it to reveal that it was stacked with colourful little skewers. "These are for after."

With a dubious glance first at Vincent then the potion and finally the skewers he uncorked the bottle and quickly downed the liquid.

Well, it wasn't as bad as the first one but then again he doubted _that_ could ever be topped. Also it seemed that it wasn't the bottle that was green but the potion. Wasn't that a _pleasant_ surprise.

After placing the bottle in one of the pockets of his loose (borrowed, from whom he had no idea) shirt he looked sideways to his father. He took a deep breath and took the plunge. And while there were so many things he wanted to ask - Why did i end up with Hojo? Where were you? What about my mother? Why? - in the end all he could push out was a "What happened?"

Vincent in turn sighed. "Let's start from the beginning, when I first got involved with Hojo when I was assigned to oversee Project Jenova." He started with a fortifying breath, speaking in a detached tone.

"I was a Turk at the time so it was nothing uncommon. That's how I met Lucretia, your mother." Sephiroth remembered reading that in the files Bella sent. Still, he wanted to listen to Vincent's story.

"I didn't know it at first but she used to be my father's assistant and was the only survivor of the lab accident that killed him and got the project they were working on scraped. _He_ used to be Hojo's superior you know and now that I think about it, I feel so stupid to never have suspected something, anything. Hojo had always been a dirtbag but it had never crossed my mind that he was a vengeful one too. Oh how wrong I was." a dry, self depreciating laugh left him as he pulled his hand, the normal one through his hair.

Sephiroth himself released a breath. If he heard was was implied correctly then it must have really stung Hojo's pride. Having to settle for the "leftovers" of the son of the man that once held his position his wife. He couldn't help but feel a little bit of vindication about that. Served the ingrate right.

"It was neither our intentions, but we started getting closer and eventually I realized that I was in love with her but when I learned of her earlier relation to my father she started…drifting away. At this point Lucretia started a relationship with Hojo. Apparently not quickly enough because soon after it was revealed she was pregnant and I knew that you were _mine._ That it was _you_. The times just did not match. You couldn't be Hojo's." Vincent paused once more to brace himself and Sephiroth was grateful because he needed to breathe too. His father was clearly trying to keep himself together, and the little sentiment that managed to slip through was _heart-wrenching._

"And then the bastard decided to experiment on you." The vicious tone startled him. So much so that it took him a bit to take in what he heard. Sephiroth braced himself. It was coming. "Even worse, Lucretia agreed, in the interest of science she said," the disgust and derision was almost palpable "and I still don't know if it was true. I don't want to know anymore. I though that Hojo was pressuring her so I confronted him about it and when the sleazebag saw that things were not going his way he shot me. He then used my comatose body as a test subject for some sort of metamorphosis experiment. That's how I ended up with these demons implanted in me. But at this point my condition was deteriorating and Hojo gave up on the experiment. I was drifting in and out of consciousness, catching tads of conversation but never able to move or wake up. And with everything I heard I was all the more desperate to. I heard about you, about Project S, about the cells, even how it was going to be so _easy_ to change up the reports,to cover up his tracks and no matter how much I hoped nobody would be coming to my rescue. But no matter how much I tried to wake up, my body just wouldn't obey me. And then the demons started _talking."_ The word was enunciated with disdainful desperation and with how things were compounding, Sephiroth could not fault the other man. He himself was starting to feel emotional."Be it whispers or screams all the would tell me was how _pathetic_ I was to be caught unawares by such a _known_ deceitful bastard. How you were going to suffer because I was so useless. How even if I got up _they_ were going to make sure to make everyone I cared for suffer themselves before killing them. And then at some point Chaos came and started promising indiscriminate slaughter along with them, taking great pleasure in informing me that it was _Lucretia_ that put him in me in an attempt to _save_ me, and I just _could_ _not_ _hear_ _them_ _anymore_." Vincent paused and took a deep breath and held it there. Sephiroth put a hand on his father's shoulder because surely this could not be easy for him. Suddenly he felt guilty. Chaos's vessel let the breath go and continued.

"I chose to sleep, because I believed I did not deserve salvation, and for the salvation of everybody else. So that I couldn't hurt anyone. Neither sleep was a relief though nor was waking. When I was finally able to move Chaos was far more vocal, even if more subdued, or perhaps because of it, and reality became an unholy conglomerate of noise and pain, and quite frankly I do not know how I stayed sane all those years." Another pause. "I was a coward and you suffered. I am sorry." Vincent finished and sighed.

There was an awkward pause for a moment before the General inched a little closer to his father and tightened the hand on his shoulder. Both stayed silent while Sephiroth tried to find the words, to say something, anything. He didn't blame his father, well the logical part of him didn't.

He understood that the man was cautious and afraid of hurting those around him, but another part of him, that part that had kept asking 'Why would my own father torture me when I am still a child', wanted to curse the man for leaving him with that miserable childhood. Funny, how that very same part was absolutely terrified of screwing this up, of driving away his father, alienating the only family he has left at this point and going back to the loneliness of the little kid in the labs who deep down knew that he had no one. He thought he had buried that part long ago and had no idea why it was resurfacing now. Normally he was not this emotional, people often called him out on being completely emotionless and he himself considered himself strictly pragmatic and a realist. But then again, there was a whole slew of things turning up currently, wasn't it.

He was just realizing that he was not in the condition to deal with this.

"What's done is done." He went with instead. And then thought 'Fuck it' and decided to be honest. "I can understand your reasoning and while a part of me really wants to put the blame on you I realize that such a thing would be illogical." Good so far. But when he went to speak again he drew a blank. He opened his mouth to say something but no words would come out. He though furiously but all his thoughts arrived at a dead end.

He was pretty sure he looked like a fish.

"I apologize. I am currently experiencing a lot of things I never thought I could experience and I realize that I am not in the state of mind to be intellectual or logical about this, even if I did ask." He was now the one carding his hand through his hair and sank a bit down, resting his elbow on the railing.

That seemed to be the right thing to say though, somehow, and Vincent chuckled. "I know how you feel. Too much overload, right?" he clapped the silver haired man on the shoulder, mimicking his son's gesture. "I felt very similarly when I had the demons sealed and then decided to ask dear Bella about the how, right after. The conversation somehow turned in to Lucretia and how the choice of implanting Chaos, while morally dubious was at least scientifically sound and how I have a good taste in women. And then the backstory came after that and it just tied everything into a neat bow." He said sardonically.

Sephiroth snorted, but gratefull for the change of subject. "Someone comes and does what would be considered impossible and then tells you they are a witch from a different world. That sure went over nicely." He snarked and took one of the skewers from the box. He eyed it for a couple of seconds and took a bite. It was good. Then he paused. "How exactly did you meet her?" he was suspecting that the mindfuck started early. His father's conflicted look confirmed his suspicions.

"I woke up to a suffocatingly pleasant and at the same time wretchedly unpleasant feeling and my demons trying their hardest to move away from the source in fear. It was the weirdest feeling, familiar and at the same time not. If I had to describe it I would say that it was warmth and comfort after the most tiring moments of one's life, so much so that it registers as unnatural and dangerous and still that a very crude way of putting it. I couldn't quite grasp it. It was so inviting but it was like something deep inside me, an extra sense I never knew I had, was telling me to stay _away._ "

Yeah thou-wait a minute…

"Your demons, the ones so confident in their ability to slaughter, were _recoiling_?" He didn't know how to feel about this.

He nodded. "Yes. You can imagine that I was not particularly willing to come across what was terrifying them. The source of the feeling went systematically through the upper floors of the Shinra Mansion and I felt the fluctuations of it along the way, so I knew that whoever it was, they were fighting the monsters. For a moment I thought I was safe, the basement was hidden afterall. As you can imagine I had no such luck." A chuckle escaped Sephiroth. That sounded about right.

"The source was coming closer and closer and I was becoming all the more alert and suddenly I recognized it. I _had_ felt it before, when Hojo shot me and the world was fading." Sephiroth gasped because that could not _possibly_ be it. By Gaia what had they gotten tangled up with?

Vincent went on unhindered "Perhaps the experience was traumatic enough for me to forget it. It finally entered the room I was in and the demons were _screaming_ for me to get away from it and I _was_ getting ready to run. I was _not_ going to engage whatever was generating that feeling." He grabbed a skewer himself and with the confidence of someone who had had them for some time took the entire first ball of dough off and chewed quickly. "And finally the lid of my coffin was slid off for the first time in years and instead of some Eldritch horror, I see a young woman, barely looking twenty, holding a _wand,_ with a sleeping child strapped to her chest, _floating_ on a broom." He bit off the second one with some viciousness. He could _feel_ the conflicted feeling his father must have had.

"And that's how I met Bella. She was the one that urged me out of that coffin in the first place, kept me awake and later gave me the solution to the demons, not that they were particularly active with her in the vicinity, and now I can be here and finally see you. And for that I am eternally grateful to her." His father's voice softened and Sephiroth turned to look at him. He was taken aback by the soft smile on the other man's lips and the _love_ shining in his eyes. He felt something dripping on the back of his hand and he looked down startled. It was a droplet. He immediately looked up at the sky to see the moon staring back at him, with no clouds to obscure its light and his eyes flew back at the little point of moisture sitting innocently on his hand, unable to comprehend its origins. The more he stared at it the more he felt his eyebrows furrow as it felt like _it_ was _accusing_ him. He startled when a cold hand touched his cheek and his hand flew up to late to intercept it. And then he felt it. There was wetness on his cheek. His fingers hurriedly traced the narrow path higher and higher until they reached the underlid of his eye, felt the small delicate lashes and finally reached the source of the offending moisture in the inner corner of his eye, his tear duct.

His eyes widened. He could not grasp this. He refused to _name_ it. Naming it would mean _acknowledging_ it was happening.

He quickly wiped it off, maybe a bit too roughly, hopping that if he snuffed it out of existence and then ignored it, then it would be like it never happened. A hand gently grasped his, stopping him, removing it from his face while the same cold fingers went to wipe the tear away, only now it seemed like the track was wider, the droplets more than just one and then the hand was turning his face sideways towards his father _and he didn't want to turn_ but he couldn't stop it. He didn't want to show this face to him. His father's expression however never strayed from gentle and compassionate as the gold and black gauntlet went to his other cheek and he leaned into the cold metal as it went to wiping the cheek in conjunction with the other hand. His _father_ was wiping his face off of the tears and he was _crying._

Yeah, acknowledging it was not the right choice. He didn't know _why_ he was crying. Really, he didn't.

His father moved even closer "It's okay." And if there was a dam it broke at this point. A hand reached behind his head and softly rested there as a sign of comfort. Sephiroth didn't notice when his body turned to face the other man nor when he started leaning on him. He was actually a tiny bit taller than his father, huh.

It wasn't even sobbing. There was just an unending stream of tears and his every breath hitched. It was that feeling of someone caring, treating him like he actually mattered as a human being, that he was not just a lab rat. And it was overwhelming. That was the happiest he had ever been.

After some time he finally got himself under control and made sure that his voice wouldn't crack. He took deep breaths keeping his eyes closed and with a hand supporting his head, elbow resting on the railing.

He took another bite of the sweet he was still holding and that seemed to be what he needed to ground himself. He sighed. "I swear I usually am not this emotional."

Vincent chuckled again. "It's fine. Not exactly your fault." He patted him on the shoulder once more and removed his hand.

They stayed in silence, this time a comfortable one, absently decimating the provided snacks, the enhancements working towards a rather monstrous appetite.

Before long the box was empty, having lasted more than both expected, probably dew to the magically enlarged space. Still, Sephiroth realized that he was hungry so they both decided to move back inside. "Where are we by the way?" Sephiroth had to ask as they ventured down the circular stairway that led to the tower. On his way down, and less dizzy, which he now realized was _stupidly_ dangerous, Sephiroth noticed an elaborate telescope with many different lenses, supported on wire frames and circular metallic mountings. There was a chair suspended before the telescope, the entire structure coming into alignment in between the seat and the main telescope.

"In her trunk." Vincent's voice broke him off of his observing and he did a double take. "You wondered off through the entry point that connects the Tent, which we all live in right now, to Bella's work trunk." He elaborated, not looking behind him to see his son's disbelieving expression. "Don't try to put logic in how this works." He glanced behind him now, Sephiroth could see the crinkle in the corners of the older man's eyes, whether he was frowning or smirking, he could not tell. "I doubt you want a migraine at this time." Smirking it was.

They continued in silence and Sephiroth was quite astonished by the structure of the veritable _castle_ he had wandered in and more specifically by the fact that he had overlooked it at all, even in his near drunken state. It seemed that in his stupor, he had managed to stumble his way thought two courtyards, five different types of _cellars_ , _a dungeon,_ two gardens, a greenhouse and three ballrooms and Gaia knows how many corridors, all extravagantly but still somehow tastefully decorated, in a plethora of colors. And Vincent was taking him through the most time and distance efficient route. Lord knows how many more things he'd wandered through! Finally(!), they reached an entrance hall, suspiciously small, concerning the size of everything else, and Vincent opened the heavy, metal encrusted wooden doors that were apparently the entry, or exit in this case, point. From there it was just a handful more of corridors to reach the first entrance hall and in the end, the room they were originally led to.

Where the witch was huddled in a cocoon of blankets in the center of the couch in front of the screens with a controller in her hands and intently focused in the character in the screen. Her hair was down and in loose unruly waves, looking windswept and kept out of her eyes by a bow that tied on the side of her head. Her glasses were nowhere to be found.

And then a maniacal cackle left her - that _fucking chilled his spine_ – when the character on screen – _wearing a witch hat –_ plunged her hand in a deformed creature's chest and savagely pulling it out in an disconcertingly realistic splatter of blood.

He had the impression there was a warning there.

Vincent sighed. _Just sighed._

"Aren't you enjoying this a bit too much?"

"I will have you know that my overwhelming enjoyment in this veritable masterpiece of storytelling and lore is perfectly justified. And I'm a Black, we enjoy our violence." She replied in a falsely haughty air, not even averting her eyes from the screen. "Wait a sec because the game has no "pause" button." She quickly maneuvered the environment on screen but Sephiroth was not focusing on that. Instead… 'Please not another Genesis!'

So involved was he in his internal horror that he didn't notice she had gotten up and was already at the mouth of the other door of the room. "You're hungry, right? Make yourself comfortable, I will be right back." She said in the softest, most motherly tone he had heard from her yet.

What was with that rebound? Didn't she get whiplash?

"Don't question it"

He didn't want to question it.

A little while later the door opened and a heavenly smell seeped through. Bella came out with a tray of food and deposited in front of him. It looked just as good as it smelled. He was ruing the day they had to leave and go back to the radioactive waste of a sludge Shin-ra was trying to convince them actually qualified as human food.

He resolved himself to enjoying this as much as he could.

"Something light but filling. And also here." She deposited another potion in front of him. "A nutrition potion. I suggest you take that first because it can be washed down with the water." She smiled at him and settled herself back on her spot.

"Thanks" he spoke and started eating.

"You know you're lucky you still have my magic running through your system." She mentioned offhandedly. "It could have been days before we found you with how huge the trunk space is."

He gave her a _look_. "And what function does that labyrinth actually serve. The structure makes no sense."

She gave sheepish laugh. "Well, when I actually bought it I just wanted it to be as big as possible, I never expected the ludicrous architecture." He just kept giving her a bank stare and she kept laughing sheepishly.

She was about to answer when they got interrupted. "Damnit you icicle, not even a day and she's already uncomfortable with you!" the voice of the flamboyant Commander broke the tension.

"It's three in the morning Genesis. What are you two doing awake?" she deadpanned at the redhead inciting a chuckle from the dark haired Commander as they fully entered thee room. The _"You should be resting."_ Was left unsaid.

The poetry enthusiast chuckled nonchalantly. "' _There is no hate, only joy'_ Sorry Doc. None of us could sleep well-" that was a lie and everybody knew it "-and we thought to take a walk." "And maybe we would encounter something...extraordinary enough to knock us out." Angeal drily finished. Oh, if only he knew that she had kept one of the Juboko branches and it was growing into a healthy little monster. Bella decided not to mention that.

She gave everyone a dark look as they all laughed. "Mou, you're so mean to me. Ungrateful." She sulked and turned back to her game with a pout on her face. "And still, not a doctor." Another monster died brutally on screen. "Anyway, would you two like something to eat too?"

Genesis perked up a bit and Angeal seemed to be thinking it over. "Actually, that would be wonderful. Thank you." The dark haired Commander agreed.

She chuckled and stood up again, the blankets falling off of her shoulders. She had on a long, light viridian nightgown, with darker coloured straps and hem. Her tattoos were visible and this time it looked like they were moving on the left side. The waves on the arm were glittering and reflecting the moonlight radiating from the moon on her clavicle. She stretched and padded to the kitchen. Her back had two wings tattooed on it too. "Any preferences?" she asked with her hands clasped behind her back from the door as she turned to look at them and she looked so _adorable_.

"Whatever he's having." Genesis answered pointing towards his already eating friend who just gave him a sideways glance. Angeal just nodded averting his eyes a little.

When the witch was out of sight then he seemed to be breathing easier. "Seriously dude? You've seen more with our fans throwing themselves at us." His childhood friend teased.

The man glared at him. "This is different. And it's more the fact that she is comfortable enough with us to let her guard down like this."

Sephiroth gave a thoughtful hum "She trusts us. Or is confident that she could take us on even in that state."

"With her it's probably both." The readhead chuckled "Though if that's the case I would actually want a spar with her." He said wistfully.

"I'm surprised you are awake too though Seph." Genesis smiled and sat next to the General on one side while Angeal made himself comfortable on the other one.

Sephiroth turned to him with a blank look. "From what I understand, I've been sleeping for about twelve hours." Of course he didn't mention that he was still a bit dizzy. The food was doing its job so there was no need mentioning it.

The redhead hummed thoughtfully. "True. Are you better now though?" he turned to him concerned "You didn't look too good back there."

"Much better, thank you. I apologize for worrying you."

"Nonsense. We're your friends. It's our job to worry about you." Angeal waved him off with a gesture of his hand and a soft smile.

Genesis smirked "If you insist however...there are a couple piles back in my office you could aleviate me from." he hinted imperiously, like he was doing him some colossal favour.

"In your dreams." Sephiroth shot him down viciously.

At that moment Bella came back from the kitchen with two more trays of heavenly smelling food. "Here you are boys." She smiled as she deposited the food in front of them.

"Thank you." The dark haired man thanked her. "What is this though? It's different from dinner."

"It's a chicken soup recipe I got when I traveled to Greece for a bit. Greece generally has incredible food with great nutritional value so I took a lot of recipes from there. And I kinda whipped it up in the last two hours." she answered with a smile.

The General raised an eyebrow at her. "Were you going to eat too?"

"Nah." She sat back down and huddled into her blankets. "But I knew that you were going to wake up and probably be hungry." She shrugged.

Oh, Ok.

"How would you know?!" The Crimson Commander exclaimed incredulous.

She giggled "Well, in Cosmo Canyon, I wasn't known for my research on materia and the lifestream but for my fortune telling. I was actually pretty good." She seemed honestly surprised by that fact.

There was a pause while they digested that. "Why am I surprised?" Angeal rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"' _Dreams of the morrow hath the shattered soul'_ Damn, Lady! Is there something you can't do?"

"But this time I would have woken you up to eat if you didn't wake up" she smirked with a sideways glance at them.

"So Doc, why are _you_ awake." Genesis ventured to change the subject with a hand on his forehead chasing away a migraine.

" _Not_ a doctor. And didn't I say I don't sleep? And I was actually writing everything down on my Book of Shadows, my personal journal, you could say. I finished, got bored, and started playing." she shrugged.

"Is that a standard practice for magic user like you."

"Not as much as it should be. It's been made more a thing for wiccans which I am not wholly." She paused then continued. "I was born and taught as a witch, which is completely different. Wicca has a Reade "An it harm none, do as you wish". You can see where that stops working ." She made a grimace accompanied by a circular motion with her hand.

"Yeah." All three replied monotonously.

"Though independently, as a witch, that doesn't mean that I can't follow Wiccan traditions and practices. They are very much solid and no matter how much some of the Wizarding Communities bitch and moan about it they are very much effective." She ammended.

"So there are many communities?" Sephiroth asked intrigued.

"Yep. I was originally a member of the British Wizarding Word. After I wrapped up everything in Britain I moved to Japan and became a part of the Japanese Wizarding Word."

"Can you move that easily." The red haired man inquired almost incredulously.

"Well…that's a bit iffy. Technically? Yes, absolutely. Make a living? There's the iffy part. The Japanese are lenient with magical education but have very high standards because they offer an abundance of time, so self study. They allow their students to study both magical and mundane curriculum and even have the school inside a separate, independent dimensions with its own time flow to allow both to go parallely. They generally want well rounded individuals but they highly value the ones that go the extra step to stand out. So the transition can be difficult."

There he caught something that she only mentioned in passing. "Does mundane and magical education not go together."

"Nope. The Magical Societies hid themselves 600 years ago during the witch hunts that lasted 300 years later."

"Wait, witch hunts?"

"Certain individuals from Europe, one of my world's continents, dominant religion, Christianity, got it into their stupid heads that magic and witchcraft was the work of the devil, practiced by those who sold their souls for insidious reasons. We got persecuted, imprisoned, tortured in order to "confess our sins" and then publicly executed by burning on the stake. The rest of the communities went into hiding to avoid anything similar. Not helped at all by the fact that a couple of fucktards actually _did_ sell their souls to get powers, subpar ones yes, but powers still. Or the fact that those witches were extremely inferior to the born ones. You can imagine how hell-bent they were on exterminating us when some idiot let that little tidbit slip." Bella's eyebrow was twitching and the character on screen became even more brutal in killing the monsters.

"Excuse me? They persecuted you for something you were born with?" Genesis suddenly had no appetite left.

"Like they listened. For them we were nothing but abhorrent filth, whoring ourselves to Hell's minions to gain power. And that's the actual wording from documented trials. Trials that of course were _so_ stacked against the accused's favour it was a joke. At some point, the church made it so, so that if you didn't accuse _somebody_ , suspicions be damned, you were punished too, for not aiding in doing the Lords work. As such the sheeple in their mad fear induced scramble were throwing accusations left and right and you could never know what you could be accused of. And the working of the trials were so ridiculous too. Once you got into it ,the only way to get out in one piece, was admitting your sins, _which you didn't even know._ And they didn't tell you until _after_ you pled either innocent or guilty. It was like a child's parents putting their kid in front of them, disappointed faces and all, asking them if they wanted to say anything to them. The Witch Hunts, everybody!" Oh she was incensed. And rightly so. This was heinous! They would be too had they not been absolutely _horrified._ And thinking about it, this spelled out so much like juvenile jealousy it was disturbing. The only thing stopping their own world from falling into the same pattern was the fact that magic was readily available to everyone even if not usable by everyone.

And then there was a light bulb. It didn't have to be magic. It could be everything. As long as there was something the public was not privileged to, nothing stopped them from snuffing the proof of their wounded sense of pride and self importance. SHOLDIER was walking along a very disturbing parallel. They realized that without the people being so dependent on Shin-ra, or the propaganda and fearmongering about invaders from Wutai, the SHOLDIER program wouldn't have been half as well received. If not for the fact that the people viewed them as protectors they would have been hunted down as well.

"And I see you're getting it."

"Wow little lady, you sure are a ray of sunshine." Angeal drawled out sarcastically.

She chuckled "I try." She replied just as sarcastically.

"So this might be redundant, but, discounting Shin-ra, how _do_ you like our world?" Genesis posed a rather sound question.

She paused for a second both in and out of her game and composed herself. "That is a bit of a difficult question-" Ok that was a bit of a shocker. She took a breath and went on. "and it needs a bit of context. And considering that I know practically everything about you three, even about that little scar on Genesis' back near the left kidney-" Genesis made an affronted noise on the back of his throat while the others laughed. "I think it's fair. Do you want to hear a bit of a long story. It might be a bit disjointed though. And heavy." She asked with uncertainty reflecting in sad emerald eyes. Wasn't this girl used to people hearing her problems? Was that why she was so open.

"Okay." Angeal smiled at her comfortingly. So she took a deep breath, fortifying herself, leaned back with closed eyes and held it for a bit. She titled her head back until it faced the ceiling and released the breath.

"After I cut ties with Wizarding Britain I started _really_ living, but it wasn't all good at the start. I saw things, heard things, experienced things. Decent music, poetry, theatre, books, _anything_ , as sad as that sounds." She chuckled but quickly sobered up again. "Or, to be more precise, any kind of stimulus, that was not strictly under the control of the government. And unfortunately, when you come from a world where everything is as strictly monitored and censored as the British Wizarding Word is, or at least tries to be, coming into a world were everything is open...is overwhelming. I slowly came to realized that the grass _always_ seems the greenest on the other side though." She sighed "And it was sadly proven that the situation outside of Wizarding Britain was just as bad as it was inside.

It started when I heard a song back then, or more specifically, it computed in my senses. It was called "Help Is On The Way". Things just snowballed from there, my luck never stays good." She snarked dejectedly. "I looked things up. About the rather destructive hurricane, Hurricane Katrina, and the help the government sent to the afflicted areas that was _so_ _pathetically_ _lacking_ to name _one,_ " Sounded about right, they all thought with disgust. "andit all took a downward slide."

"The writer said it best. People are too busy concerning themselves with celebrities' fifty-second trip to didly-bullshit and their short attention span fails to grasp that shit is actually happening. And I didn't want to believe it. Because the people on the outside weren't stuck in the dark ages. They weren't clueless rubes from the shticks. They were educated, well rounded people that had left inbreeding far behind them an yet the people could be so _stupid_ _and_ _savage._ Yet the Universal Declaration of Human Rights happened about _fifty_ years ago. Up until fifty years ago people with mental illness were not treated like human beings. There are people that were imprisoned unlawfully and everybody knows that but doesn't bother and at the same time there are people guilty of heinous things that are out. Slavery, human trafficking, weapons trade…they're all a reality. Governments start and throw wars for profit and image with no caring about the casualties. When my generation fought a civil war because nobody else would because it didn't fit their interest, with the political plays all happening behind closed doors and conspiracies getting people killed, a world were people were actually aware and doing nothing infuriated me." she took a deep breath.

"It made me feel so _stupid._ Made me realized how _sheltered_ I was. I was so _hopefull,_ so _eager_ to finally be living differently, with people that actually gave a damn and in the end it came crushing down. I couldn't fit in with the magicals, and after been away from the mundanes for so long I couldn't fit there either on a good day, let alone as a magical war veteran among non magical sheep." Now her voice was faint and wobbly. "I was out of the Wizarding British Word and I was still as alone and miserable as I was _in_ that cesspool. Funny enough I was _still_ in Britain, in my own country still, and I still felt like the odd one out." And again she looked so _small,_ so _weak,_ huddled in her little fort of blankets an pillows, like it would shield her from the world.

"Things got better though. Much better, and as much as I complain about Zelretch, it's largely thanks to him, and I owe him so much. And somewhere in the middle, I entered a different magical society, finished my education, and ended up living in practically the closest thing to a utopian society there is. And I ended up with a job that allows me to travel and learn, and believe me, I've seen some _shit_. Don't misunderstand, I am not a misanthrope, or at least I'm not trying to be, yet I cannot bring myself to become hopeful about my world and how much the people have degraded to sheep. And I cannot bring myself to actually _like_ it outside of a handfull of communities. Yet I realize that I am only twenty. Something inside me tells me that I cannot judge the world about its goodness yet, at least not based on its people. My world can be so beautiful at times that it makes everything else look worth it." She sounded so frustrated and tentative about how she worded things. Like she herself was unsure of why she felt that way. She was, probably. She took another breath and her eyes softened.

"Here though, the people are not that far gone as mine are. They have awareness. Yes they are human and thus fall into all kinds of traps flawed beings do but here the stand up and move one. They don't stagnate at one point of comfort, willing to let others do the hard work. Here, I've seen people with pride, people that try. There are misses too, that's for sure, or else Cloud and his mother wouldn't be here, but I came to see that these are the exceptions. Or at least I hope they are, I've only been here for about two months and the places I've seen are a couple small villages, Nibleheim and Cosmo Canyon. So take that as objectively as it can be taken. Or maybe it's the monsters." She shrugged and. "So yeah, I can't judge neutrally so far and to be honest, I really miss the place were I live currently in my world, Japan. I will have to travel more and see how I feel after. Though so far I like this world as a collective, in stark difference to the couple of places in my world." She smiled at them gently. They realized anger didn't fit her features.

"Must be pretty bad for you to prefer a broken, dying world like this." Sephiroth gave chuckle.

"Meh. Mine's dying too, just more slow going." Then she perked up as if suddenly remembering something. "Also I didn't mention anything about the monsters back home." She shuddered.

Angeal looked at her in interest. "So you have monsters there too?"

Another shudder, this one almost violent in its entirety so intensity. "Yeah. They are a product of each culture's folklore and they can get bloody terrifying. The ones you have are much better."

Images of Midgar Zoloms and Dragons who where a nightmare to deal with and of 8-eye's and Foulanders who where just nightmares to _look_ at and they _really_ doubted there could be worse, she was probably used to the ones on her side. And Genesis voiced that opinion with a scoff.

In turn, she looked at them dead in the eyes with the most blank look that could ever be worn by a human being and spoke in a monotone of equal proportions.

"Here the monsters are somewhat normal. The names are stupid yes, but they are somewhat normal. But on my side? Let me see, were do I even start? Maybe from the gigantic snake that lives for centuries and can kill you if you even catch a glimpse of its eyes, petrify you if you do so indirectly and a venom so potent that you are dead within five minutes tops?" Ok, that sounded bad on a lot of levels, but she wasn't done.

"How about the human baby looking plant, variant of whose mature individuals kill you if you hear its cry? Like it wasn't bad enough that it looks like a human baby, it had to screech too. And it's also used in potions to treat the aforementioned petrification." That was just disturbing. Also wasn't something mentioned at some point about potion ingredients?

"How about one of the types of vampires we have? The thing roots it's lower half into the ground, _rips_ itself in the midline and flies into the night, on bat-like wings, to perch itself on a pregnant woman's roof, pierce it with an insanely long and hollow tongue, and while the pregnant woman sleeps, prick the womb and suck out the unborn child's heart. You heard me right, that is a thing! Oh and I've got more and it gets worse!" their faces were contorted in horror at the last one and even Vincent who somehow went unnoticed all this time in the corner, made himself know by an audible retching. Well he _looked_ like a vampire so this one must be hitting close. And really lady! Worse?

"Worse? How can it get worse?" The statement left Genesis before either of his friends could _gag_ him. They _did_ shoot him glares.

"Well there are also wonderful little creatures called Skinwalkers, who are very, very pale, emaciated, humanoid looking creatures with disproportionately long limbs that mimic voices and sounds, usually to lure humans so they can kill them and rip their skin off so they can wear it as a fine suit, and you wouldn't know by appearance that you neighbour, or friend or anybody for that matter is not human at all anymore but something else masquerading with his face. And they also leave off high, multi pitched screams and generally move on all fours in unnaturally high speeds. Even worse those things have started spreading to the rest of the world. And you should see the monstrosities that come out of Japan, as much as I love the country. And don't get me started o Australia, a country that doesn't need magic to be bloody terrifying. Why, it's like it's sole purpose is to kill all of it's residents." She finished with an innocent smile. Okay... that was…

"Why did I open my mouth?" Genesis whined on his side. Really, why _did_ he open his mouth? They could have all gone on with their lives happy without knowing all that.

Genesis, desperate to change the conversation grasped into the first thing he could. And that happened to be the game still playing on the screen that she had not stopped playing throughout. "So I see you playing this thing, but what exactly is it?"

And Sephiroth got a chill down his spine.

Her eyes glinted with excitement and passion. "My dear friend, I am so glad you asked! You see _this_ is a masterpiece of storytelling and lore, with such an effective atmosphere and visual queues that makes everything so compelling. This is to me what Loveless is to you!"

Oh no!

The man only looked intrigued, while both of his friends had looks of trepidation on their faces. Sephiroth glanced at his father only to see him with a hand on his face. Should they leave? His father gave him a look, as if reading his mind, that said "Absolutely not!"

The exchange seemed to go unnoticed by the remaining two people. Bella extracted a hand from under her blankets and beckoned him towards her. "Come on here honey, let me introduce you to my madness." She laughed, carefree.

Angeal sighed. This was going to be a long night.

Linelinelinelineline

It wasn't. It was actually pretty interesting because the game was very intriguing and Bella magnificent at explaining while at the same time not explaining. It kept them interested.

Too bad an alarm went off at six and she had to get back. She said she had to make the bread. Breakfast was in two hours so she left them in their own devices.

The two hours passed fairly quickly actually, considering they spent them sprawled on the couch in varying states of sleep. When the heavenly aromas started spreading again, they knew it was time to get up and there was their gracious host, welcoming them with hot mugs of coffee and a spread that would make even the President fume in envy.

"I don't even know what half of this is." Genesis just stared haplessly at the spread in front of them.

"Don't worry, I'll walk you through it." Cloud patted his arm as he passed by the Commander on the way to his chair. "By the way, where's Sirius?"

Bella came through the doorway carrying a platter of freshly baked sweets with more platters and bowls floating behind her and depositing themselves on the table. "Haven't seen him since yesterday morning. He and Andrew had to go back at the agency to deal with a couple of problems with their previous positions." She explained.

"But they don't work there anymore." He deadpanned.

"It's more about the _being_ than anything else. A sense of camaraderie, if you want." She shrugged her shoulders in a lackluster manner. She herself didn't much understand. "Both Sirius and Andrew were pretty high up and Sirius had his fingers in all sorts of pies. Them leaving created a whole slew of messes." Then as an afterthought she addressed the three newcomers. "Sirius is my godfather and a valuable source of information and Andrew is the guy you saw leave yesterday. He's my hacker."

"Thank you for reminding me of that." The Silver General drawled. She just giggled at him.

"Speaking of work, what exactly are we going to be doing about Hojo and Hollander?" Angeal asked.

"That's right. At some point we are going to be going back to Shin-ra and all of us are going to be getting check-ups. Hollander practically washed his hands free of us but what about Seph. Discounting the bitch fit that Hojo is going to pull once he finds out Project S is effectively scrapped, wouldn't he try to re-inject him with the cells?" Genesis voiced, concerned for his friend. Hojo wasn't knows to be the most stable individual on top of being a complete and utter sadist. Sephiroth shuddered just thinking of Hojo's inevitable conniption.

The witch sat herself on her seat and served herself some rice and eggs. She looked unconcerned.

"The monstrosity known as Jenova is dealt with." Vincent cut in as he entered the room. "I was there when she did it." He gestured towards the happily eating woman as he took a seat, nursing a mug of tea.

The three Shin-ra elites just stared at her as she munched on her eggs with no care in the world. "Really now?"

She noticed that she was stared at and opened an eye as she chewed on a piece of toast. "Yep." She stated simply. "Seven interlocking geometrical matrixes and runes in at least five languages along with extra runic wards on the perimeters to bounce and contain the destruction inwards until there isn't a molecule left breathing in the rooms. Plus all extra energy got siphoned in and channeled back to the planet." She gave them a serene, kind smile "I don't do things by half, you see." The frosty gleam that entered her eyes paired with that kind smile was terrifying as all Hell. "And if it's Hojo's or Hollander's reactions that concern you, I can deal with that too, in as permanent a manner as you may wish." Her eyes were closed, smile still on her lips and her head tilted, her cheek resting in her hand.

That warranted a pause because, really, what do you say to that?

"Don't kill Hojo. I'm calling that one." Sephiroth drawled nonchalantly.

"Yeah, and I'd rather get Hollander myself." Genesis put his own two cents in after he recovered.

"Genesis." Angeal spoke sternly to his friend.

"What Geal? That bastard deserves it after what he put us through!" The redhead exclaimed in disbelief

"I know. But choosing to betray the organization to whom my allegiance lies based on the fact that they delivered the first strike doesn't make it any easier, or honorable for that matter." His friend dragged out stonily.

"If it makes you feel any better, once I'm done here your ideologies are not going to be clashing anymore." She made an attempt to assuage his dismay.

"I'll tell you if it starts helping." The dark haired man sassed back.

Genesis choked on his tea.

"What do you have in mind?" Sephiroth sighed with a hand rubbing the bridge of his nose.

She chuckled. "Well, I can create an anchor that, should it be planted in the appropriate spot is going to divert their attention and thinking whenever their thought process even broaches the subject, but it needs to be planted somewhere that they will not notice any time soon _and_ close too them to be caught in the radius. That is option one." She held up one finger.

Genesis hummed in thought. "Unless we feed it to them and you find a way to make it stay in their guts that's a fifty-fifty at best." He dismissed

"If you can get them to swallow a stone the size of a marble. Even if I shrink it, it goes so far since I don't want to overpower the anchor with magic. They blow up and they are hard to make." She rejected that thought outright.

"Option two?" Angeal prompted.

"I come with you to Midgar and mindfuck them and plant the anchor in their heads. Excuse my French." She answered serenely taking a sip of her tea.

The other three, that were unfortunate enough to drinking or eating something when that option was delivered, were now chocking on it.

"Perhaps a little warning next time?" Vincent proposed conversationally.

"You think?" she pouted in honest confusion.

"Well, they're not exactly used to it." Cloud deadpanned from his seat across her with a piece of toast hanging from his mouth by a corner.

"Ok, wait. Back up!" Genesis managed to get out once he wasn't hacking up his lungs. "Take that from the top. You can do _what_?"

"I am a Legillimens. That means that I can dive into a persons mind, see and manipulate their memories, shape their very being by altering their thoughts and manipulate them as I see fit. Or in this case, root through their heads and plant the triggers there so that the solution is more long lasting. Unfortunately, this is not permanent either, as they are going to overpower it at some point, the body you see, always seeks to reach a state of natural order, but I'm hoping for their imminent doom to have come to pass by then." She explained and she might as well be talking about the weather.

Silence.

How do you respond to that?

"Warning, nee-san."

"I though they were prepared enough."

"I think you broke them."

"Muu Cloud. You're mean!"

Finally Angeal was the first to break the silence. "I would like to formally request that you leave my head as is, please." He spoke in a serious monotone.

"I do solemnly swear upon my life, magic and soul that I have never, nor shall I ever, venture to breach your privacy in such a heinous way, unless expressly given permission." She spoke back with a solemn and formal manner. "So I said and so mote it be." And they felt the magic take hold around them, the binding words invoking an instinctual trust among them and they just _knew._

In the end Sephiroth summed it up the best. "I am happy you are not our enemy."

"Back to the topic, I think that coming all the way to Midgar to deal with the psychos of the Science Department would be extremely dangerous considering that Shin-ra is looking for you." Angeal offered his concerns. "While you did a wonderful job here, Midgar is very heavily monitored, and there are so many Turks, unless you live in you disguise it would be extremely difficult."

"That is correct. And that goes double for Shin-ra tower. Reeve is proud of the fact that both in and out of it there are no blind spots" Sephiroth agreed.

"I on the other hand have a question." Genesis raised his hand in a cheerful manner. "Can you turn invisible? Because then, this becomes more viable."

"Why, yes, my dear. I can turn invisible." She in turn cajoled. "However that has its limitations too." She cautioned.

Angeal hummed in thought. "Such as?"

"Well, I have a cloak of invisibility but the hems may flap and I can as such be visible through it and it's also very long and the edges drag on the floor. There is also a _Disillusionment_ _Charm_ , but that makes you a human chameleon and if the light hits it wrong the illusion is given away. Both cases can be covered with _Notice-me-not Charms_ and Repelling wards." She listed off. "Also, Andrew managed to hack into the database just fine to find more information on your cases, maybe he can manipulate the cameras a bit too." She added.

"That actually is sound thinking." The General assented "Does the charm cover you if you're flying?" and if yes, did it cover the broom? "You could fly on the outside of the building, the higher you go the cameras are more scarce. And windows are generally open to get some wind down the halls." He suggested.

"That's an idea." The Crimson Commander agreed enthusiastically while his childhood friend nodded to himself and leaned back on his chair, arms crossed.

"I'll tell you to stop that there though, because I've learned from experience that with me, no plan ever survives first contact. Let's keep it rough, lest the Potter Luck decides to become a nuisance." She lamented with a long suffering sigh.

The Silver General carded a hand through his hair in almost resignation. "Anything else we should know about before we go about making plans?"

"Nah. Just that things tend to go to Hell on Halloween and around June." She dismissed. And then she paused. "Hey Vincent? What's the date?"

The man pinned her with an unimpressed stare "August 1st." he deadpanned.

Oh. "That makes sense. That means that the incident that sent me here occurred at the end of May. And I am 21 as of yesterday too…damn, that means that I missed the Summer Solstice! And today is the Lughnasadh." she whined.

The dark haired Commander raised an eyebrow at her. "I find your priorities a bit backwards." He commented "And Summer Solstice and Lughnasadh?"

"Wait, you're twenty one? You're older than all three of us? How? You look no older than seventeen!" and her birthday was yesterday too? Him and Angeal were nineteen at this point and Sephiroth seventeen! And she was so callous about it? Well, not that any of them three were particularly insistent upon celebrating themselves, but they always did _something_! She apparently didn't care at all.

At this point Bella was grateful that Mrs. Strife was having a kate morning in and was not here. She didn't really ever care about her birthday. She wasn't raised to. "We magicals age slower after we hit the point that our magic starts entering its prime period. I hit that point of maturity at seventeen, thus my youthful appearance. And as far as birthdays go I'm not particular. I've never really celebrated. The most I'd do was stay up till midnight to greet the new day. Which I kind of did. The only other time was last year when Sei caught wind of it and the entire team dragged me out and spent the entire twenty four hours with me." She shrugged. "Though that means that I should be receiving packages for all of this week." She conceded thoughtfully. "Oh, and those two are Wiccan holidays."

She had apparently forgotten about Cloud though…she was distracted by the little blonde tugging at her clothing. "You don't celebrate?" he asked her with the most confused and sad frown they'd all seen in their lives "Why?" the little whimpered question made all their hearts break.

Bella on the other hand was at the verge of _hyperventilating_. "I simply wasn't raised to." She answered with a grimace. She hoped that he would drop it so that she didn't have to explicitly mention the Dursleys. That would only make him sad. Instead the little boy tilted his head to the side just a bit making him look even more adorable. "But why?"

Genesis snickered silently in amusement and Angeal's posture had gone a bit too stiff. Apparently the witch had a real weakness to the little Chocobo. Sephiroth also noticed that his father was suspiciously looking away.

The raven haired woman laughed nervously. "It just wasn't that important, honey. Don't be sad about me, _please_. Yesterday was a good day. How about we go parkouring today to make up for yesterday?"

The little boy pouted "That is not a proper birthday. You're supposed to do things that make _you_ happy." he contradicted in a small raised her hands up in surrender tremulously. She looked like she was close to screaming.

"Yes bella, you're supposed to do things that make _you_ happy." The red haired man agreed with the little boy, smirking all the way. When the woman turned a scathing glare his way he outright smirked at her, enjoying her discomfort.

A little whine broke them out of their little world. A pathetic, little doggy whimper.

The door leading to the main hall opened and in padded a very large, black dog, that had apparently opened the door. Genesis recognized it. It was the same dog he had seen with Bella when he first met her, he'd mistaken it for a fluffy skirt.

The dog, now that he saw it upright was very large and had it not looked so pathetic, it would have been rather intimidating. It's fur coat was thick and shiny and the eyes a startling, gorgeous blue. However it walked with a sedated gait, tail hanging and ears dropping back, head down as well.

When the dog finally reached Bella's seat it pawed pathetically at the skirt of her robe. Bella herself looked very concerned and confused. She quickly moved her chair away from the table but before she could get out of it to comfort her dog, the large canine leaped onto her lap and sprawled itself on her front like a petulant child would on his mother, seeking affection. Hell, the hind legs were hanging on either side of her hips and the front legs went and crossed around her shoulders. Even the head wad resting on her shoulders like a child's would.

Her arms went around the dog in confused concern. "Padfoot?"-so apparently it was a "he"-"What's up buddy? What happened to you? You were with Andrew yesterday right? Andrew!" she yelled the man's name in almost hysterics as her rant escalated in speed and volume.

The same young man they had seen rushing of before disintegrating in black smoke yesterday, stumbled in the room in a just as pathetic state. He seemed so tired, like he was going to keel over at any second. He barely made it to the table where he collapsed into a chair, his arms cushioning his head. "You called Boss?" he managed to whimper out.

Bella didn't answer. Instead she raised a hand in the air, and flicked to fingers in a beckoning motion. A potion vial sailed into her hand out of nowhere and she wordlessly deposited it in front of him. He opened an eye, looked at it, grimaced but downed it nonetheless. He let out a groan as he dropped his head back on his arms. "Boss…" he whimpered pitifully.

She gave him a blank stare. "What. The Bloody. Hell."

"Paperwork backlog Hell." He uttered the words with such fear and loathing, like it was the devil itself. "Mountain upon mountain…my entire cubicle was buried…and they never ended!" he wailed. "Boss I think it _bred_!" he exclaimed in abject horror.

She looked at him blankly. "Uh-huh. And Padfoot?"

"Poor guy did a lot of running. Up and down the departments chasing _rats_." The way he worded that with utter contempt made her stiffen.

"Is that so? Is there, perchance, an infestation, so to speak?" she needled almost carefree.

The look she received was telling enough. She sighed. "For the love of Morrigan, it's a ferrying agency, the semantics shouldn't be this complicated." She ran her hand down her face. "Bring me your paperwork later when you are not going to die of exhaustion and we'll go through it together with a fine toothed comb. Make sure everything is running at least well."

He saluted tiredly. "Yes Boss." And collapsed on the table again.

"Go to sleep Andrew." She smiled at him and he just smiled back and dissolved into dust again. She smiled back at the three SHOLDIERs. "I apologize but it seems we might need to wait a bit more to hash things out with Andrew." She said sheepishly.

"As long as he doesn't keel over…" Genesis answers with a thoughtfull shrug.

"A ferrying agency? You have a business here?" Angeal inquired.

She gave pause, wondering how exactly to break it to them. They hadn't touched on the Master of Death thing yet…

"It's not 'here' per-se-" so it was in her world then..."and it's not exactly mine either. I'm more like, training to run it at some point in the future." Yeah, let's go with that. "And calling it just a ferrying agency is, mild, let's say. Depends on how many more revelations about my life you want to hear." There, that way she wasn't lying.

What followed immediately was a cacophony of moans and blasé exclamations that in the end just boiled down to a generalized sound, suspiciously resembling the phrase "I'm out." At that moment they couldn't have raised their hands in surrender quickly enough.

She pouted at all of them "Mean!" She flickered the ear of the dog still on her lap in mock anger when there was chuffing heard "And don't you dare laugh at me Padfoot!"

"Didn't you have an owl too?" Angeal asked curiously and it had nothing to do with how his childhood friend tensed at the mention of the infernal bird, not at all.

Bella perked up happily. "Hedwig. She is currently sleeping in my room. She came back from hunting yesterday night you see, my dear girl!" she swooned, a look of utter adoration on her face as she contently snuggled closer to the canine on her lap.

The general consensus was a blank "Huh".

"She has a snake too." Cloud added cheerily. "A shiny black one. His name is Lonrúil!"

"...Huh…"

She finished her breakfast and stood up. "Well, till Andrew rests, I have a couple of orders to make and prepare for Lughnasadh. It's gonna be busy today. Hey Cloud, wanna play with me after we go running?" she looked at the little blonde and she received a most brilliant smile.

Linelinelinelineline

The day went on normally after that. Or as normally as it could go. Vincent had disappeared with Sephiroth at some point and haven't been seen since. Angeal and Genesis didn't fault them. They had seventeen years to make up for. That left the two childhood friends to explore the inside of the "Tent" and perhaps the trunk they've heard of. That thought was derailed when they reached the Main Hall and opened the door behind the staircase.

What greeted them was a Grand Library. Rows upon rows of shelves arranged in a circular manner with _floating couches_ at random places in front of them and on the Back of the room was a door behind which there were two more sets of stairs going in opposite directions. And when they tried to see how tall the towering shelves really were the saw them reaching the ceiling _that_ _actually resembled a clear night sky!_

Yeah, no. Genesis was staying here and seeing if he could find some of the witch's magic books. Angeal chuckled at his friend's starry eyed look. While he himself was not one for complicated magic he _wasn't_ one to pass up on a good book and well, he had an entire library to find _something._

Genesis then found _"A Starter's guide to Numerology."_ and both him and Bella had to _drag_ him out of the library for lunch.

Linelinelinelineline

Lunch rolled around and Bella handed them all their Pepper-up's before sitting down, having provided _another_ feast, this time, the food befitting more of the season.

"Go on. Tell me how it tastes." She prompted after the meal when none of them had touched the vials. "I wanted to kill the taste this time."

Sephiroth quirked an eyebrow. "No offense is meant, I assure you, but I doubt wanting to would be enough, from my limited understanding. Isn't it like chemistry?" He had drawled

She laughed and stood up, heading towards the couch. Cloud nodded to her that he would be there in a minute. "Yeah, I suppose I could have been more forthcoming. Potions happen to be a subject I greatly enjoy you see. An enjoyment that seems to be lost to the majority of the populace, to my unending bafflement." She lamented dramatically. "Oh and Sei-chan called me earlier, stay here for a bit before you go do your things, he's going to be calling in for a brief check-up."

"You make it sound like there are no practitioners." Angeal observed as she plopped down on her previous place on the couch. He and Seph had a bit of time to kill before heading towards the training rooms so the took the couch they occupied the previous night. Her dog appeared out of nowhere to sit next to her too, placing his big head on her lap.

"Well, it's a hard field and most seem to believe that memorization is what's going to save them." She rolled her eyes. "It _is_ like chemistry and if you don't know what you're doing it's going to blow up in your face. Magnificently." She added as she pet Padfoot's fluffy head, drawing a purr-like sound of pleasure.

"Too true!" Cloud yelled from the other room.

"That guy knows." She laughed with a hand in front of her mouth as she giggled.

"Aren't you supposed to be one of the best?" Genesis teased as he made himself comfortable on the plush armchair and fished out the book he was previously reading. He hadn't any so far but there would be questions ahead, he was sure, and he wanted to be near her when they cropped up. "You still have mishaps? _"My friend the fates are cruel, there are no dreams, no honor remains."_ "

"It's a delicate subject, you prat" she joked back. "Each ingredient reacts very particularly and specifically with other ingredients and in very particular amounts. In complicated mixtures even the slightest of shifts could have destructive results. Why, I remember very clearly every single potions class I had back in Hogwarts, where my poor classmate Neville would somehow manage to fudge up his potion in a most spectacular show of destruction. First potion we ever brewed was a very easy one, really, cure for boils. At worst it's going to _cause_ boils. Yet he somehow managed to melt his cauldron and the desk on it and get splashed as well. Spent the rest of the day in the infirmary." She was rubbing her forehead in disbelief. "I half believe that Professor Snape blamed me for that accident because he himself was not able to believe the extent of it, other that his gross dislike of me that is."

"Wait, your Professor didn't like you? Why?" he'd imagine she would have been one of the favorites.

"Apparently he hated my father. From what I'm given to understand, my father was a complete douchebag in his school days and him and his posse were my Professor's greatest tormentor. And it seems that I greatly resembled my father, only with my mother's eyes, especially before puberty hit. Not that he seemed to stopped when I grew up." She quickly soothed the dog when he seemed to be growling in anger.

"Did your dad have a vagina? That's stupid!" Genesis exclaimed in incredulity before he could stop himself.

Any lucky to hear him burst out in incredulous laughter. Even the dog seemed to be joining in. However while the rest managed to keep themselves mostly composed Padfoot was much more overwhelmed by the comment. Hell, he was wheezing so bad in, apparently, his version of laughter, that he rolled off of the witch's lap and onto the floor. The witch prodded the canine with a foot, still giggling. "You goin' be ok, buddy." She chuckled thickly through the accent she was failing to keep in check.

So bad was the dog, apparently, laughing that his form started... blurring? Slowly to be replaced by a hysterically laughing man, rolling on the floor.

Still giggling, Bella gave the, now, man a hard kick in the ribs, making his next wheeze a grunt of pain.

Okay…

Why were they even surprised.

"Oh, come on! What did you do to them? You broke them! Twice! This isn't healthy!" Cloud chose that moment to join them and well, the three SHOLDIERs looked like they had run out of fucks to give.

Sephiroth placed a hand on the blonde's shoulder. "Never change, Cloud. Never change."

In return Cloud placed his own hand, tiny compared to the General's, on top of his idol's and looked him in the eye, uncharacteristically serious. An unsaid agreement of camaraderie.

Bella and the man dissolved into laughter again.

Linelinelinelineline

 _ **Omake**_

Welcome to the addiction!

Much to both Angeal's and Sephiroth's happiness the night ended up being quite enjoyable. For two reasons.

One, Bella was quite good at explaining everything as it came while still leaving room for the imagination and was doing great justice to the depth of the story, even in the early beginning. Not that either of them would be admitting it any time soon. It was _a video game_.

Two, it happened in the VR training rooms of the Trunk. No better way to experience the story, than _living_ it. Bella had also made sure to stock them up on _a lot_ of pepper up with an alarm going every thirty minutes to remind them to monitor their condition.

Some things played out very much differently that way.

" _Oh yes, paleblood."_

" _Yharnam is the home of blood ministration."_

" _Easy, with a little Yharnam blood of your own…"_

" _But first you need a contract."_

"That started well."

"That's the character select cutscene. We're skipping that since it's VR. Not that it matters much anyway. If you do decide to play the normal way, I have to warn you that the hair used to be worse."

"Okaaay…I guess."

"Also the loadscreens can be brutal but at least the game put item descriptions on the screen to keep you occupied."

And then the opening cutscene continued.

" _Whatever happens… You may think it all a bad dream…"_

"I don't like the way he says that."

*giggle*

And then the werewolf appeared and disappeared and then the grotesque skeletal baby things and when the cutscene ended everyone was just _staring_.

"Oh yeah, it's also a horror game."

"That escalated quickly" the redhead wheezed. Paralyzed. On a bed. In a dingy, dimly lit room. And then the pale creatures.

By the end of it they were just as pale as them. They were apparently called Messengers.

Wonderful.

"Don't they just nail the atmosphere of a place gone to hell? Oh that werewolf by the way? It's also down the hall. Because why not. And it's a bitch to kill." She motioned towards a door. Now that they were able to move they managed to look around. The place was very realistic in its state of disarray. They themselves were the same except for their clothing. All four of them were wearing the same thing with Bella's bearing slight deviations. A white button up shirt with a vest over it, dark coloured pants with suspenders hanging on the sides, black dress shoes and a short black cape and hood.

"You were right about the atmosphere…" Angeal said as he adjusted the sleeves, folding them up to the elbows. Genesis himself was looking at the short cape he was dotting with distaste, no doubt missing his beloved crimson duster.

"Oops there it is" why did she sound so happy about it. She was almost skipping.

"" _When_ _the_ _war of the beast brings about the world's end…"_ It looks good for a game." The Crimson Commander commented about the gory creature.

"Doesn't it. Oh and you're supposed to die to this one."

" _Why_?"

"You'll see.~" and she proceeded to approach, _slap_ it and then _get mauled_ by it. She _must_ be messing with them…

The dying scream of the "characters" was followed by a loadscreen were they felt weightless, after that somber music and their feet suddenly touched ground in a different place. With her there looking at them with a face that said: Took you long enough.

"This is the Hunter's Dream. Kinda like a separate hub area. The world of Yharnam is a beautifully interconnected place you see, and you can access everything, plus a couple extras later, from here. Here is also when you get your starter weapon." She gestured around them with arms outstretched. "Let's go with the cane and the Blunderbash this time. I haven't used this combination much." She muttered to herself.

"What other weapons are there?" Angeal eyed the clusters of otherworldly dust and Messengers scattered along the stairs to the little cottage like building.

"Two more guns that I don't remember the name of, an axe and a cleaver. We are fighting beasts here after all. You can see their stats in the menu, just think "Menu"." She checked her gun giving it a couple swings, testing the weight. "However, you can commission for your own weapons if you wish. There is a Messenger bath up the hill there. That's the Insight shop." She gestured to the left where the building had another entrance. Next to it there was another outcroppings where an alabaster pool was half hidden by the foliage. "The field techies added a bunch of things there. There are options about it too. You can either commission it and pay for it with a resource called Insight, skip the Insight altogether and get it anyway by summoning it if that's an option you get in real life and the VR takes care of the rest or scan it on the outside if that's not an option. If you do want your weapon I can give you the Insight from a different save since I got a bunch and it's easy for me. Technical support generally made things as viable as possible and the rest of it is magic so…" she shrugged.

"That is actually a good system." Sephiroth mused as he eyed the assorted weapons.

"Don't forget though that this is a game. The goal beyond anything else is to have fun." She smiled at them.

"" _My friend, do you fly now, to a world that abhors you and I. All that awaits you is a somber morrow, no matter where the winds may blow."_ Why not." Genesis smirked.

She played a bit with the weapon to familiarize hershelf with it's (surprisingly varied and accurate, for a game) moveset and then paused. "Also there is this that happens with the weapons here." And she transformed her weapon into a serrated whip.

Genesis whistled.

"And you can bet the moveset is just as varied with this too. Every single weapon transforms and they all feel incredibly distinct, even the ones with similar movesets." She smirked.

"That's very impressive of them."

"Well, games of Hidetaka Miyazaki tend to be very good. Best combination of muse and meticulously incredible design I have ever seen. I've played so many times yet I find new thing every time." She smiled.

"So this _is_ real somewhere." The dark haired Commander recognized.

The witch nodded in agreement. "Yes and I will be visiting. I need to get stronger though with weapons first. The world is one of those with rules set concerning magic and as much as it pains me to do so, I admit that I do depend on my magic a lot. Magic that there would be unresponsive. Also because this game's story resembles something akin to a rabbithole that leads to two more rabbitholes that each leads to two more…well there's a difference between improvising and going half-cocked."

"I am praying for the poor world that you want to inflict yourself to." Genesis deadpanned at her teasingly. She stuck her tongue out at him.

Linelinelinelineline

"Ohhh that shriek was _ghastly_ …"

"Spoiler alert, you end up fighting it."

"Wonderful…"

Linelinelinelineline

"Holy shit! It just leaped over the overpass!"

"Well, it's the first Boss, Gen. It has to make an impression." She smirked as she lunged at the beast with a laugh.

"" _My friend, your desire is the bringer of life, the gift of the Goddess…"_ The musical score is superb too." The redhead commented as he dodged a wild swing. The only thing that subtracted from the atmosphere was the red bar that appeared with a name over it, declaring the monster: **"Cleric Beast"**

"Yeah, the game has one of the best scores I've ever heard. And the Cleric Beast has one, if not the best ssoundtrack of the game. And if you listen to the lyrics, they offer a lot in the sense of foreshadowing."

"Really?" the General inquired as he fired a shot. He was _not_ used to guns but it was in his general training before he officially joined SHOLDIER. Hojo wanted him to be the best. Funny how that was completely useless concerning the main weapons offered, as they were not something _anyone_ would imagine wielding. He had taken that as a challenge and went with the one thing that was the furthest away from his comfort zone. The Saw Cleaver. No he was not an overachiever, thank you very much.

"Well the lyrics are latin and translate to hint at sick blood and the horrors _that_ entails. Spoiler alert, the church is vaguely alluded to."

"Well, that's morbid." Genesis deadpanned.

"It's a horror game Gen." his childhood friend deadpanned back.

The redhead stuck out his tongue petulantly.

"Wait, wasn't it mentioned that the church guarded the secret of blood ministration?" the dark haired man remembered.

"You'll see, oh and I'm gonna get killed here to get a few things off of the Dream." She warned.

" _Why_?" Angeal asked, debating with himself where exactly his life lost track…

"If you die to the first boss, whichever one, you get warped back to the Hunter's Dream and the Messengers give a couple of things. As we entered together, we are considered a unit and I'll give yours when I get back." She finished her explanation and just didn't step to side enough. That was enough for her to get caught in the creature's downward strike and be butchered by the follow-up side-swipe. And just like that her character fell to the floor dead.

All three of them sought to create as much distance as possible and Angeal slammed a blood vial to his thigh to top off. He was fairly outside if his element, having considered commissioning a Shin-ra broadsword but opting for a cane when he was informed that he could get a normal blade fairly quickly. Genesis, as the allotted ranged fighter and occasional support, went to search himself for a Phoenix Down only to remember that this was a game and a) she wasn't really dead and b) there was no suck thing as Phoenix Downs here.

"That was extremely quick." Angeal observed unnerved.

"Just like real life." Sephiroth muttered thoughtfully.

"It's better than Shin-ra's VR, that's for sure." Genesis smirked. "This is going to be fun." He lunged, viciously swinging his own threaded cane, it was the only thing that fitted his aisthetics.

Sephiroth joined his friend with his own vicious smirk and just as vicious swing. "Agreed."

Angeal just looked to the sky, asking for sanity and guidance with his crazy friends. All three of them.

.

.

 **So this is late as well but I made it extra large to compensate.**

 **So as mentioned above my luck's been shitty the last year…so I have a minor surgery scheduled for the day after I'm writing this and well…I'll probably get fucked by that too. I think I should call a priest or something…**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this and please tell me your opinion both on the drama bits and on the little extra. This chapter was like pulling teeth. Should I make more about games, movies and such?**

 **Also a homemade cookie to all who guess and have guessed Bella's object of obsession!**

 **Thnks to everyone who took the time to review this story, I really appreciate it. *snif***

 **Have a nice day**

 **Sil~**


	14. Chapter 14

**C** **hapter 14**

" _Well, everyone looks to be fine. That's good."_ Were the first words out of the Curse Breaker's mouth when the connection went through. _"But then again Bella's always meticulous."_

She huffed smugly. "Of course!"

The redhead looked at her blankly. _"Huh. Yeah. On to business."_ He leaned back comfortably and stretched to the side to grab a clipboard and pen and propped his legs up. He sounded a bit testy too. They decided not to mention it for now.

The questions were the standard medical inquiries they had all been subjected to before. With a twist. And as the questions came and went the Japanese youth seemed to be getting more amicable, casually sipping from a mug resting on the desk.

" _Okay then, everything seems to be in order. You haven't detected anything malign I suppose."_ He directed to the witch, not even looking up from his clipboard. How routine was this that asking questions about one's near high levity and possible hallucinations _with details please_ , were boring?

"You feeling better there, buddy?" she broached almost nonchalant when it looked like they had finished with the questions. He was definitely more relaxed now.

The red haired man stopped for a moment before craning his head back to gaze at the ceiling. _"Now. You have no idea the shit I've had to deal with since we spoke yesterday."_ "In hardly twenty four hours?" He cut her with a sigh. _"I'm in Australia, for starters."_

"Oh." A pause. "Did it rain spiders again?" the tentative way the question was asked made it impossible to distinguish if it was serious or a joke. The pathetic stare he sent her way made them realize that no matter what it was meant to be, it was serious now and _what do you mean raining spiders? Again?_

" _Yes_." Oh, that was a whimper.

She flinched back in surprise. "Wait, really? I was kidding! Should I- no scratch that, I _am_ sending Aura Cleansing potions. And also, why would you even!?" She had mentioned "Australia" yesterday and it made sense, not being a place those too would go to most willingly. If it actually rained spiders then they were ready to agree.

" _Job."_ Sei let out another whimper. _"Some fuckwit went and got high on_ Kami _knows on how many psychoactive things, because I cannot explain it anyway else, did some obscure ritualistic_ shit _and then proceeded to get his stoned ass_ eaten _carrying an item he had no reason to be carrying which_ somehow _tied everything in a nice little shitty circle and put up a curse field of a bow on an entire farm. And because the item, that I haven't the slightest what it looks like, belonged to some bigoted Christian nut I am trying to bear through the fucking_ Plagues. _I don't know if I should be asking for the locusts! Can you imagine what's gonna happen when the firstborn son part comes up? I know_ I _don't want to but I_ have _to!"_ he carded a had through his hair. _"Why are you so useless when I need you? At least if you were here I would have someone to blame this on."_ He whined, this time, the statement for sure a joke.

"Maybe the Potter Luck has rubbed off on you." She laughed, bringing a hand up to cover her mouth.

Okay, first, if your luck could get so bad, why hasn't your Curse Breaker friend tried to help you with what is obviously a curse on your entire lineage? Second, damn! Is this the shit you two deal with habitually? Third, should they be worried too?

" _Oh the horror!"_ he laughed along with her, their conversation went on, the two partners unaware of the thoughts running through the witch's guests' heads. _"Regardless, I need to pick your brain on ghosts and/ or demons and also can you scry in addition to the potions."_

"How come? You know plenty on the subject. And in any case, Nadeshiko would be a better choice. And I don't know how good scrying is going to do from a world away." She raised an eyebrow.

The read haired Curse Breaker sighed again. _"I recognize that first part. It's for the same reason that I cannot talk to Annalise, no matter how much I would have appreciated that. Nadeshiko is still AWOL in the middle of jack-nowhere Mt. Fuji. No phone signal. Same with Tsukiyo in Mahoutokoro. You set a_ forestfire _under their ass with the project you gave them."_ He gave her a dark look as if blaming her for his situation, though they knew he was pulling her leg.

"Blame Nadeshiko, who called me after _you_ called her, and practically _flayed_ me for disappearing and not calling for almost two months and then strong armed me into telling her everything so she could help with the Planet saving thing. Pricks." She fired back with a pout.

" _For what?"_ he exploded in incredulous outrage. There was a vein twitching over his raised eyebrow.

"Oh come on! Anny drops off of the face of the earth for months at a time but I disappear for only two and suddenly the whole world stops functioning for some reason. Unfair." The witch crossed her arms with a pout.

One of her friend's hand flew to his face to massage the bridge of his nose and for a moment his head leaned back in an obvious attempt to seek guidance from the heavens. _"Because with Anny we know why she does it and that she is actually going to re-emerge at some point. You, not so much."_ He explained slowly as if to a stupid person _. "And on that note, to finish up, I also sent you a black mirror."_

She was obviously drawing a blank, then she almost visibly shook herself. "Wait, you sent me a black mirror? When?"

" _Yesterday night ya dingus? For your birthday? We set the coordinates for your room…which means you didn't go to sleep, did you?"_ he gave her what could only be described as the stink eye. _"But still, you've wired your place so intricately, you should have felt the wards warping around the_ halfsizedcontainer _we sent you. And you should check them real soon cause we also sent cake."_

"Well I was more concentrated on tracking three slowly changing presences in my house to make sure everything was going smoothly. I left it up to the wards to inform me if something hostile breached the wardspace and left out everything else in between." She completely bypassed the sleep issue…It seemed that it was a disturbingly frequent occurrence indeed. The deadpan look on Gakusei's face was telling enough.

" _Uh-huh...Anyway I need to go, we're done. I'll call back tomorrow for another check-up, same time, at least I hope so…"_ he paused to look unnerved at something off-screen, carding a hand through his hair. _"Can you send those potions before nightfall? Scry whenever you can and I'll try to call back in two-three hours to brainstorm. See you later."_ And the call ended abruptly.

Bella stared for a bit at the darkened window, indicating the ended call. "Tell me Cloud, would you be interested in learning Divination and basic scrying?" she kept looking at the laptop screen with a hand clasped over her mouth, her brows furrowing in speculation.

"You mean what you did to find Tifa?" the little boy had stayed silent during the entire questioning patiently waiting to spend time with his big sister.

"I realise it might not be as impressive as battle magic but Divination does have its merits I have to, very grudgingly, agree?" she rushed to explain with a pained look.

"Are you kidding me? You found a nine year old little girl in a storm in the Nibleheim mountains by staring at your reflection on the water in a dish! Hell yes I would!" That was worthy of admiration because storms in Nibleheim got _bad._ Finding yourself in the middle of one is something even the experienced adult natives strive to avoid for fear of their lives. A little girl had close to nil chances of survival in the harsh winds and heavy snowfall without taking stock of the monsters prowling in every scare inch.

"Divination? As in fortune telling?" Genesis perked up. Well…he certainly was dramatic and magically endowed enough to be realistically putting stock into it…

"Well I can do that…I'm not very good at it though. Divination and Divining in general doesn't only concern the future though, you can see past and present too, as well as searching for anything you might need. I'm better in those…Divination is a rather broad term, the art of trying to gain insight and intuition about various subjects, but unless you are 'blessed' with the Inner Eye you don't have much hope of success…" she explained though by her tone they could say she wasn't very fond of the subject. By this point both Angeal and Sephiroth had sat down on a different couch and were listening, at first concerned about Gakusei. The snarky man seemed so weary and agitated and it came in stark contrast with the confident image he had made just the previous day. It drove home the though that his job was really difficult and perhaps dangerous. And now, listening about Divination, they were interested in anything that could maybe offer insight and intuition. Genesis had yet to pull his book up and bury his face in it since the questions started. Shin-ra's three best SHOLDIERs could come up with at least ten situations off the top of their heads that information varied from either little or non-existent to so laughingly wrong that they would have been less screwed over with none at all.

"Okay honey, I'm going to get the mirrors. Be back in a sec." she patted him on the head and disappeared with a soft crack, making the three SHOLDIERs startle.

A second passed in silence before Angeal broke it while running a hand down his face. "Is anyone keeping track?" Cloud giggled amused.

Genesis raised a hand. "Conjuring things out of nowhere."

"Summoning objects to herself." The Silver General added.

"Manipulating space to her whims." That was Angeal.

"Potions ad Runes to an impressive and terrifying degree." Genesis picked up where his friend left off.

"Medical knowledge to the point of understanding genetics better than Hojo, a supposed genius." The General continued with a vindictive smirk. He quite enjoyed that little inside joke…

"Let's not forget the mindfucking." The resident redhead proceeded.

"Please don't remind me." His childhood friend requested miserably.

"There's also her disguise and the mindfuck _that_ causes." Their friend cut in.

"And that reminds me the fact that she can make herself invisible and manipulate sound around her or, probably because it's her we're talking about, around anything she wishes…" Genesis theorised.

"Also, apparently knowledge about ghost so also probably the afterlife and demons." Sephiroth.

"Now teleportation and whatever this Divination is..." Angeal was getting tired. They didn't judge. They were too. "Is there anything else?" he sighed.

" _The wandering soul knows no rest."_

Cloud was giggling madly at them.

"You know something." Sephiroth deadpaned, obviously prompting, for the Chocobo haired boy to fill in the obvious blanks in their knowledge.

"I'm not telling~!" he sing-sung, soundly ignoring the request and soundly stumping them. They were not exactly used to this kind of reaction and it was honestly refreshing.

"Not even Seph? I though you were a fan!" Genesis needled the blond half joking half serious.

"Fan or not, I stumbled through _that_ by myself! I'm not saving you the suffering!" He was snickering. A kid was laughing at them. How was this their life?

At this moment Bella popped back into existence with a bowl and a mirror under one hand and a wrapped up box with holes under the other. She had an almost pained expression on her face. She placed the box on the couch so as to free her arms to deposit the scrying tools on the table in front of her, still looking at the box with a grimace, now more resigned.

"Is everything alright?" the General inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"There's nothing wrong per'se but, well this needs a bit of context." a hissing sound cut her off, originating from the box.

"Is there a snake in there?" Angeal was definitely tired.

"Considering this is from Nadeshiko, a team member, I think we mentioned her?… I'm going to say yes…and probably poisonous…I brought the box down to put some food in it cause the sounds from there seem rather cranky…"

" _Dreams of the morrow hath the shattered soul._ " She knew what Genesis was really asking.

"Well…her and Sei-chan have this ridiculous rivalry that somehow came into the picture when they first laid eyes on each other and I am usually caught in the middle." More raised eyebrows and looks that spelled out incredulity. "Let me explain! A couple weeks ago, Sei sent me this beautiful snake because he knows I am incredibly fond of snakes. And I bet she found out and tried to one-up him!" their dubious looks told her that they didn't follow the logic…

"Aren't you on the same team?"

"Well, yes but both are very focused individuals and can put issues aside so it's never been a problem. They may be tearing at each other's throats on a daily basis but they are actually pretty good friends." She shrugged "Just give me a bit to give them a bit to eat so they don't start biting." She gently hefted the box and moved back towards the kitchen.

They could hear cooing from the kitchen and then a lot of hissing.

Okay…

Five minutes later she came back with a blue and red coil necklace around her neck – oh that was a snake.

" _Why_?" Genesis posed the question in a truly put upon tone. " _Wings stripped away…"_ it was almost inaudible, like a prayer.

"Why what?" she looked to him in surprise. He abortedly gestured at around the neck "Oh you mean these little guys? Well their cold-blooded and they wanted warmth." 'Well did you need to sling it around your neck like a fancy piece of-wait _these_?'

"How many are there?" the little blonde asked, his eyes shining. 'Damnit Cloud! We believed in you'

She smiles and ruffled his blonde crown affectionately. "Two." she says cheerily "Both vipers." 'Aren't those supposed to be extremely venomous?'

"Are they safe?"'Thank Gaia!' they wanted to sob in relief that the little boy at least recognized the potential hazard.

"Yes, I told them to not bite anybody." 'Wai-what?' the witch reassured.

Add speaking snake on the list too, apparently.

"Cool! Do they have names?" and he was back to being excited

"Why yes, they do. This one is Dari Ah-ee-rr, meaning 'of the water' in Indonesian" she pointed towards the vivid turquoise blue one that raised its head from the coil in recognition of its name "and this one is Stol meaning 'igneous'." this one had vivid scales of red and bright yellow with a bit of purple that protruded from its body like spines and it seemed like it couldn't care less

"They're pretty." That was true, however the three SHOLDIERs were of the impression that that was not what should have been the main concern. "How do I tell them they're pretty?" that gave them pause…before the witch opened her mouth and out came a series of hissing noises that should _not_ be coming out of anybody's mouth because the human body was _not_ equipped to make them. The little boy tried to mimic her nonetheless. And it sounded tortured.

"They say thank you and that your accent is funny." Probably because he butchered it.

"Does this work on snake-like monsters?" Sephiroth asked, perturbed at the sight.

The witch tilted her head in though "I haven't tried, to tell you the truth." She then nodded to herself in determination. "But I'll be sure to try. Thanks for the idea" she smiled.

They just wanted to be a fly on the wall when that happened.

"Okay so. Impromptu lesson in Divination." She started as she sat herself comfortably in her usual spot. "First of, take everything with a grain of salt. Actually no, make that a _salt_ _mine_. The future is not something quite set yet so it's ever changing. As thus, only true seers can see the future and that with very low probability. The past and present on the other hand as they have already happened or are currently happening are much more viable. Only problem there is synching up to the right frequency. What I mean by that there is a very high possibility that you glimpse into a different parallel and thus see something completely irrelevant. This is why Divination is considered very particular at best, completely unreliable at worst. And by parallels, I mean exactly what you imagined. Parallel dimensions of the same world, where events play differently, by whatever margin. It can be fiendishly difficult to distinguish what is true from what's not and the best way you can go about it is following your gut while trying to be as impartial as possible. Which can be…challenging. Despite all this, application is easy. You center yourself and direct intent laden energy towards the chosen reflective surface. Sometimes you get results, mostly you don't. That's about it." She shrugged as she finished explaining. Yeah, definitely bad experiences there. Genesis, Angeal and Sephiroth shared a glance. They would be asking later.

"Yet your teammate is willing to put his faith in your ability to Divine for him." Angeal inquired, well and truly curious. After all, she just spewed a rant about why this kind of magic was unreliable and difficult to use, and she clearly was greatly antipathetic about it. Yet she still used it, and with implied results that could be counted on.

She reached into her robe's pocket and fished put a pair of delicate, red framed glasses. "Well that's were Zelretch comes in, my teacher. He has control of what Magi call the Kaleidoscope, the second True Magic, the ability to traverse in time and space. That's why I can reliably scry for information. Not that I'm anywhere near actually traveling by myself. The best I can do is see and distinguish." She explained raising a hand in the air and bringing forth little polychrome lights. They looked like triangular shapes of unstable form. She tried to keep them there for a moment but they trembled furiously before completely destabilizing and combusting in a colourful light show. She grimaced and shook her hand before continuing to speak.

"And also, people that have been, let's say… touched? by Divinity are a bit more susceptible. And I did walk to my death, died and then came back, out of, well, pure spite, let's call it what it is, and that equals touched by Death so there you have it." She shrugged uncaringly.

They wished so dearly that she wouldn't be so nonchalant about it. Was that what she meant when she said she barely made it alive? Might not have come back? She had _actually_ died?

She apparently did not grasp the consternation lacing their shared silence. She had turned to Cloud – he was too calm about this. Had he known? – and was coaching him in using the basin. "You already know how to center yourself which is pretty much all you need to know, it's honestly like using materia, but before I actually let you touch the basin on your own, we're going to be doing it together so you can get an idea of what to do, because you don't have experience with the Kaleidoscope. So come here." she gestured and the blonde nodded and without preamble plopped himself in her lap and she placed the basin in front of them. "Now put your hands on the edges like this – " she indicated gently and then placed her own hands just over his, fingertips touching. "For now just concentrate on what I'm doing."

"Isn't there some theory or something about it?" Cloud wondered with a raised brow but did as instructed nonetheless.

The look in her eyes as she answered could only be described as long suffering. "Yes but if I try to do it "justice" - " complete with air quotes there "I'm gonna start sounding like a cultist. And considering you think I am an angel for some reason –" "You are." "Am not." – "if I do that you may take it as gospel and by Merlin, Morgana and Ulrich, Divination is the last thing that needs to be taken overly seriously" her voice broke at the end indicating the existence of bad experiences.

The little boy looked thoughtful for a moment. "So you're a saint instead?" he snarked at her.

"Not the point!" she burst out in startled laughter that subsided into _slightly_ hysterical giggles. "Oookay back to work." She continued the impromptu lesson her shoulders still spasming occasionally. As she leaned forward and over the little boy the two snakes around her neck took notice of the proximity and reared up slightly, golden eyes transfixed on the already murking surface of the water. They even slithered slightly off her neck onto Cloud's fluffy head and over just to stare at the water at a better angle. Extra points for defensive cringe.

Yeah, another glance between the Shinra three as Sephiroth and Angeal left, all three swiftly decided that one of them if not all three would be talking to her later. Absently, Genesis wondered when he had decided to act as the slight woman's therapist.

Linelinelinelineline

Two hours later, Gen having worked his way halfway through his book with judicious help from Bella, and who knew numbers had other meanings other that the usual numeric one, the witch had sent Cloud off to train. Genesis would have stayed where he was, on the comfortable couch with a cup of excellent tea at his side, simply taking notes in the notebook Bella had given him graciously. Until she popped back with _a threaded cane._

"Wait are you going to the VR grounds?" he sat up a bit.

"Yeah, I'm about to move to the forest outside Yahrnam after I finally got past that stupid flayed monstrosity of a Boss. We sometimes go together, when she's not studying or sleeping or working. But this is the first time I have an actual weapon…" The little boy answered as he weighted his new weapon.

"' _When the war of the beasts brings about the world's end.'_ How about I come with you this time. Maybe we can catch Seph and Geal before they go." The red haired man sat up, placing his book in one of his duster's inner pockets – because of course he wasn't parting with his beloved coat since the place was practically air conditioned. The little boy's bright blue eyes widened and shined with happiness and he nodded, excited. Oh he was so adorable. Genesis himself couldn't help but smile back as he followed sedately behind Cloud as he raced out of the room. Behind them, the witch chuckled contently, gazing at the two contently.

Whelp. She had things to do. She slapped both hands on her cheeks.

Linelinelinelineline

They actually were lucky enough to catch Sephiroth and Angeal in the training rooms. The two men (well Sephiroth was 17 still, but he was considerably older that the nine-year-old) noticed (and did a doubletake at) the very familiar weapon on the excited boy's hand. Genesis waved them over as Cloud went to the control panel of the VR room.

"Any progress with Gakusei's predicament?" Angeal asked his childhood friend.

"A bit. Her mood plummeted by a quite large margin, however she wasn't really open about it. Thank Gaia for Cloud. The kid seems to be developing into a miracle worker. ' _There_ _is_ _no_ _hate_ , _only_ _joy_.'" He shrugged. "How about you?"

"Well, we worked some frustrations out." Sephiroth carded a hand through his hair "What's with the cane?" he gestured towards the little blonde, handling the control panel with practiced ease.

"Bella had it commissioned and it apparently arrived yesterday." Genesis answered, just a tad hesitantly.

"I see. So you'll be heading in?" the question Angeal was really asking was "Is it a good idea?"

"It seems, yes. The kid apparently does it alone for about a week. He's actually ahead of us. Wanna join us?" The redhead was a bit starry eyed at the prospect of more of Yahrnam. He had taken it the best, trying vigorously to connect the too-little information along with the tiny tidbits Bella had dangled over his head.

"Wait, we went through the entire city last time. How big is it." The dark haired Commander exclaimed incredulous. The city had been bigger that many real life cities.

"Very big. As in, wherever your eye falls if you look at the horizon, you're going to get there eventually." Cloud answered, having paused and looking back at them.

"' _Ripples from the water's surface, the wandering soul knows no rest.'_ " He chuckled "You've went through a bit too, haven't you?" Genesis asked more for the input, rather than anything else.

"Yeah, but I wanna go through Old Yahrnam again, considering how badly I botched my way through last time…" The grimace made the blonde boy look like an indignant kitten.

"That's good work ethic." The General praised. Repetition was the mother of learning and when it came to fighting that was especially true. And considering that Cloud wanted to join SHOLDIER in the future that was a very good habit. So far he liked the blonde that didn't blanche or stutter and could actually have a _conversation_ with, _sarcasm_ and _sass_ included. It was incredibly refreshing. And he was apparently a fan of his too…why couldn't everyone else be as normal?

"Ha, wait till you get to the Blood Starved Beast. See if you wanna do it again…" The boy snarked back and he smirked.

"We'll see."

"So you coming too?" There was a glint in the boy's eye that could only be described as ecstatic.

"Why not. It feels more real. Better than Scarlett's waste of money." Angeal interjected. "But again this one is implemented through magic." He mussed.

"I'm gonna be missing it at the end of the month." The General mourned the though.

"I'm gonna be missing a lot of things at the end of the month… ' _My friend do you fly away now, To a world that abhors you and I?'_ " his red haired friend agreed.

"You can always get her to send you stuff…" Cloud suggested with a raised eyebrow that was just so full of _suggestion_ …

"Fat chance, the less I have to deal with the owl the better." Genesis apparently did not appreciate the tone.

The blonde didn't appreciate _his_ tone too it seemed. A blonde brow rose higher, blue eyes judging him and calling him a drama queen. The other two had to stifle laughter because they quite agreed. Genesis could get so dramatic at times.

The boy spared a final look of condecention at the Crimson Commander "So how far have you been?" The boy turned to the other two, and oh how glorious was Genesis's face at being dismissed so completely. Both of them had to hold in their laughter.

"Finished Yahrnam." The dark haired man answered, laughter in his voice.

"Have you done the little girl's quest?" the boy probed.

"…Yes…Please don't remind me…" Yeah, not a nice moment, neither as a fact in itself nor as a reminder of the harsh reality. And as far as the battle with the girl's father went, no matter how enjoyable, it had some rather disturbing undertones.

"How about the Beast Possessed soul at the bottom of the Church Tower?"

"The what now?" Genesis blanched.

"So that's a no. Have you encountered Snatchers, and not the one to the side of the Yahrnam Chapel."

"…No…"

"Ok, have you done Amelia?"

"No…?" Okay, so it was evident that there were many hidden areas. They had made a neat little circle around the overrun city and finished the night in front of the Cathedral…Oh. "She's optional, but I suggest you finish her before moving forward because there is a bit of lore accompanying her that is set up from Father Gascoine and gets mentioned in Old Yahrnam too."

"Then I suppose that is a good start for when we continue from our end." Angeal mussed.

"That's not necessary I can come with you from the last time you left off." Cloud suggested, bouncing back and forth on his heels.

"How would that work, we did it with Bella?" that was more of a token protest at this point. Angeal needed to accept that logic had no place there.

"Magic."

"…Right…"

Linelinelinelineline

Okay. So all three of them were used to field training with the newbies. They were so used to it as a matter of fact, that none of them registered them as actual missions. More like chores that they didn't even remember _doing_ they were so dull.

This time they were pleasantly surprised.

The boy wasn't extraordinary, but he was definitely good. As things were, he was above average. Average SHOLDIERs, that is.

Colour them impressed.

In all honesty, everyone enjoyed themselves. Angeal looked nostalgic too, obviously drawing parallels between Cloud and Zack. It was really such a joy fighting alongside the boy and teaching him as the went. He picked things up very well too.

"Nee-san does that too. She says that the best teacher is combat itself." Bella was doing an incredible job.

They had to wrap things up after two hours. Or more specifically Cloud had to, because, he had had a rather tight schedule. A self imposed one at that. There was going to be a lot of quarrel concerning who would mentor the kid once he made SHOLDIER. Sephiroth was smug already. They just wrapped up with him because they needed to take a break and at some point Angeal remembered that Pepper up's were a _thing_ they _had_ to take.

"So what are you doing now pipsqueak?" Genesis asked as they leisurely trotted back towards the main hall.

"I have a name you know." The kid offered a token glare but not much more as he walked with purpose to the kitchen. They curiously perched at the doorway and looked the nine-year-old move around swiftly and practiced. "Bella's going to be finished with her potions shortly." He dragged a chair to the counter and hopped on it to reach one of the higher selves and take a bottle filled to the brim with something putrid yellowish. "So she will need a break. Then she's teaching me Japanese. That or how to make a pipe bomb. Or really, whatever she's in the mood for. We don't always keep to a schedule, whenever there is one, that is." He opened another shelf to take out a vial with white liquid and then hopped off the counter and opened one of the drawers and took a…plastic inhalation mask with a… container…attached to it…

Before they could ask what in the name of all things holly he would need that thing for or even _begin_ to address the _pipe_ _bomb_ there was an almighty boom that shook the entire…building? house? _whatever_ … and nearly threw them off their feet.

"Yep. She's finished now." That comment was the only thing that stopped them from drawing their weapons. Did this happen often?

They followed the blonde as he passed them with no care in the world and back towards the training rooms, only out of _sheer_ morbid curiosity. They bypassed them, surprisingly, and headed deeper in the foundations. Two or floors lower and the walls were no longer covered with wallpaper. Rather they were stone with suspended orbs of fire illuminating the way that did very little to quell the chil that seeped into their bones. There were doors, heavy, intricate, metal contraptions on both sides but they continued further still, down the corridor to another set of stairs, these ones spiraling down. This place looked like a dungeon. But the blonde seemed unaffected. Instead he popped on leg over the railing, and slid down the stairs like it was a slide.

Who were they kidding, with those two, of course it was.

Once they reached the end, no more stairs in sight, it was almost freezing cold. How deep were they that the warming charms on the Tent were not reaching? Genesis suppressed a shiver, he didn't much care about the cold. They could see their breaths for Minerva's sake!

There was another corridor with doors on each side but the floating orbs only reached up to a door about in the middle.

Cloud trotted over to the door and about to meters away he gestured them to stop. They gave him a look but stopped nonetheless. He walked to the door stood on the side of the hinges clearly away from where the door would be opening, took hold of the handle and got ready to pull.

He didn't need to. The door opened from the other side and out came a plume of grey and green and purple smoke, wreathing a stumbling, hooded figure, robed in greyish blues and silver. A dirty silver scarf, one that at some point must have been a magnificent colour, was drapped loosely around narrow shoulders, concealind the evidently feminine face from the nose down. She wore a pair of white gloves, equally as dirty as the scarf, smudged grey and brown along with a pair of goggles. And she was coughing terribly.

She stumbled to the opposite wall and slid down to the ground, her frame still wracked by coughs, and barely managed to raise a hand towards the open door flicking a wrist abortedly and the smoke gathered and surged back into the room, the door slamming shut.

Cloud approached, the container now having an odd green tint to it. A quick glance showed that only the vial was full. The bottle must have had some sort of gas in it.

The poor soul, still hacking like it was going out of style, took off the hood, lowered the bottom of the silver scarf and nearly ripped the goggles off. Yes, this was indeed Bella. She took the inhalation mask frantically and placed it over her nose and mouth, taking as deep breaths as her coughing would allow. She took a glance at them and raised a still shaking hand to stop them from asking. A few breaths later the container was empty again and the coughing had completely stopped. Cloud handed her the vial which she quickly uncorked and downed in one go. She turned just the slightest bit green and made a retching sound from the bottom of her throat. They couldn't blame her, the thing was thick with some nondescript _bits_ in it.

A couple of normal breaths later and she looked at them fully. "Hello there. What are you doing down here?"

Angeal facepalmed. Sephiroth shot her a _look._ Genesis rubbed the bridge of his nose. Cloud was just laughing at them.

How was this their life?

Linelinelinelineline

"Nah. Don't worry. This always happens when I experiment with potion ingredients. This one wasn't even that bad. You should see the other labs. And since I finished Sei-chan's order early I though 'Why not?'" she was leading their ascent back to the main hall. She paused a bit, scrunched her nose the slightest and immediately resumed talking with a nod to herself. "You need another Pepper-up." Eugh.

"She's right. You should have been here for when she was making your potions. It felt like there was a bomb testing ground right under our feet." that, surprisingly, didn't make them feel better. "How's progress?"

"Good, but I'm out of herbs. I'm gonna be gathering more tomorrow." she shrugged, her posture conveying the 'What can ya do?' vibe perfectly. "You should really see the other labs. I don't know how or why the first combinations reacted that way but the resulting gunk melted an expansive hole straight through the cauldron and table, straight to the floor were it melted a gaping hole through _space itself,_ straight to what I can only imagine to be the Ether and somehow meddling with the expansion charms in such a way that took half the labs of that corridor. If you were to open any of these doors except the one were the accident happened you would see nothing but that Ether." She giggled. Woman that was no laughing matter!

"I still haven't been able to fix it." She continued unhindered "Now, since my lab just blew up on my face, let's leave the pipe bomb for another time." Thank Gaia! A sound decision! "See if Vincent would be willing to show you tomorrow if I'm not available." Noooo! "And since Sei's gonna be calling soon how about you stay throughout that? We have a tendency to go on tangents in Japanese anyway and you could glean something out of us trying to clean up that particular mess. Critical thinking and whatnot." She offered.

Woah, woah, woman. Backtrack! Why are you even _considering_ teaching a nine-year old how to make pipe bombs!?

Sephiroth and Angeal shot Genesis a wide eyed and almost desperately, prompting look. 'Tell her something!'

He shot back a flabbergasted and affronted one 'Why _me_?' it screamed.

"Okay!" the little boy smiled so happily at her it lit up the dingy hallways.

Every bit of resolve crumbled. Genesis eyes were screaming ' _You tell them!'_ There was a pause and then both Angeal and Genesis turned to stare at Sephiroth. ' _You_ tell him.'

He in turn blanched. 'Why _me_?'

Their looks turn became deadpan 'He's _your_ fan.'

Sephiroth turned his eyes towards the beaming blonde, still chattering about something or other to his 'big sister'. He knew he couldn't. "You're learning another language?" He ignored his friends' unimpressed looks.

The beaming smile turned to him and the boy nodded happily. Who was he kidding? He couldn't burst that bubble. "Yeah, Bella-nee knows a lot of languages and Japanese in very similar to Wutai, so I though it would be useful."

"Is that so? Intriguing."

"Yeah but it's the only language other than the one we're currently speaking. A bit archaic but the same still. There is a lead there but for the love of Hecate I can't find anything history related going too much back." She spoke frustrated. Bugenhagen sure as hell had nothing. Before the Ancients there was nothing. Nada. Zip.

"Well, the Ancients are all gone along with their records and anything recorded is after so there are facts missing. Why exactly are you even looking?" he was really curious.

"That much I figured. And well…ok, I told you that different words interact with each other in various ways right?" she turned around to face them, walking backwards and they gave a slow nod to show they followed "This world is closely connected with mine but it's _not_ parallel to it. Take note of that because _that_ is unusual." She stressed that as much as she could. "Parallels are supposed to be very similar. They're called parallels for that reason. But completely unrelated worlds having things in common like _two_ languages and even _idioms_ and _expressions,_ vegetation and even mythology. That suggests uncommon interaction." She ticked up fingers as she counted, four in total, the languages taking one each. Herbs didn't sound that outrageous but mythology? "And if I figure out when that happened I might be able to come up with a more aggressive solution than the current "Find alternative power sources and hope it's not too late" one, because just making Shin-ra stop butchering the lifestream isn't gonna cut it." Of course it wouldn't be that easy…

"Wait, there is what common? How exactly?" Angela inquired curiously.

"Vegetation, more specifically herbs. I found Monkswood and ferns. And about mythology, some time ago, when me and Cloud went to clear the Shinra Mansion we found a summon Materia which I gave to Cloud. That was Odin. A very much same Odin as mine. Also, Vincent's gun is called Cerberus and Chaos also bears a very striking resemblance to the one I am familiar with. Also many more and I haven't even seen much so far."

"Screw that! What about Odin, Cerberus and Chaos?" Genesis on the other hand tended to be a bit more insensitive…

She laughed, thank every God that listened, having apparently gotten over it. "Back in my world, Odin is the king of the gods of the Norse pantheon and he's a god of wisdom. And even the horse he rides, Sleipnir is the same as in Norse mythology. Well actually, now that I think about it, not exactly a god but a very high being called a Juten, it gets complicated, ask me later if you want." She shrugged.

"Now Cerberus, is the name of the Greek guard dog of the Underworld. He was a giant, three headed dog, sometimes with a dragon head at the end of the tail and before you say it's coincidence, Vincent's gun has three barrels with a dog head etched in each. The word Cerberus is a latinized version of the actual name Κέρβερος (Ker-ver-os). Fun fact, there is _some_ evidence that Κέρβερος means "spotted". If it's true, props to the God of the Underworld, the giant dork named his enormous Hellhound Spot." She giggled.

"And Chaos, that's a bit more complicated. Again, in greek mythology it is stated in the Theogony, - just like Cerberus originally Θεογονία (Theogonia), meaning "Birth of God" or Gods in this case because it describes the birth of every single ancient Greek God, monster and miscellaneous creature, - that in the start of the universe there was an entity known as Χάος (Haos), latinized to Chaos, representing the primordial emptiness, alone in the world. Then Γαία (Gaia), - representing the primordial earth, ooh Gaia look at that- , Τάρταρος (Tartaros),- representing and governing the abyss named Τάρταρα (Tartara) - and Έρως (Eros),- representing the concept of love -, come into existence. Following suit, Chaos creates Έρεβος (Erevos) latinized to Erebus and Νύχτα (Nychta) latinized to Nyx. Darkness and Night respectively. Then Chaos promptly goes to sleep, I assume, cause it's never mentioned again." She paused to let them digest that and take a breath herself. "From what Vincent's told me, considering the crabby douchebag's been living in his head-" they really wanted to know if she had said that within earshot of the Container of said «crabby douchebag» "this world's Chaos is a herald of the end. Putting the Planet out of it's misery when it can't take any more abuse and letting Omega, also in Greek known as Ώμεγα, - also the last letter of the Greek alphabet, and mostly signifying the end, fun right?, - to take whatever life's still left in some kind of Arc to inhabit a knew world. Put in that context, there are surely parallels, with only emptiness left behind where once was life." She paused as they reached the top of the stairs in thought. "Whatever was Crescent thinking, implanting that thing into the man she supposedly cared about, I will never understand. I only had Old Moldy and Snape running roughshod in my head for three years tops and I was going crazy. Having three volatile beings in his head whispering madness would have already been horrible, add the bringer of the Apocalypse into the bunch and it becomes hellish. How that woman was even considering a competent scientist is fucking baffling. But then again, I've seen the scientists Shin-ra has in its payroll." She was massaging the bridge of her nose. "And I do apologize Sephiroth, she _is_ your mother, but this kind of horrific bullshit really gets to me. A friend of mine once said that I have a 'Saving people thing'." She said truly apologetically. She had a weary look in her eyes as she carded a had through her hair, grimacing at how greasy it felt. "Fuck this, I need a bath."

"No need for apologies. Between you and me I don't exactly agree with what my mother did." Sephiroth answered blankly. His friends slightly bumped his shoulders in silent support and Cloud looked at him with sad, sad eyes. He couldn't help placing his hand on the blonde's head in reasurement.

"Is Greek mythology your world's dominant mythology?" Angeal steered them back to safer topics.

"Hell no! Greece itself is tiny. But it was such a big cultural and scientific hotspot that it influenced greatly it's conquerors, spreading through a big chunk of Europe. At its best, Greece was brimming with truly magnificent people. They were actually encouraging their citizens to be educated and think for themselves and have their own opinions and be the best they could be. They even had a fund in place so that the poor would be able to go to the theatre. And their theatre in itself was phenomenal, many plays are still relevant to this day, thousands of years later and they are a legitimate source of knowledge. And the sciences, oh Lord the sciences! Mathematics, Physics, Astronomy! Many of the things considered modern discoveries were found out back then. Fuck some of the Math of that age has me scratching my head and I have gone through Arithmancy. Your book, the one on numbers? You've seen the math in there. I'm talking even worse, like squared. But then came Rome and then Christianity, which meant Church and a bunch of really bad things happened courtesy of the supposedly moral high ground involving the destruction of some scientific texts that we had to rediscover, but then again religion doesn't want things like logic and thinking, that way people may actually start taking whiff of the bullshit." She was ranting.

By Gaia, did she even breathe? The Shin-ra elites just stared as the woman raved on and on, eyes twinkling like stars. They exchanged looks. A giggle drew their eyes towards Cloud. This kid would never stop laughing at them. "The plays are really good though, most of them at least." He smiled at them brightly. "For future reference avoid Runes and Potions too. When she's in a mood she starts waxing poetic." He then turned to the witch and tugged at her robes. "Nee-san, if you don't go now you'll be late for Sei's call."

The witch visibly recoiled as she came back to reality and gasped. "You're right Cloud dearest. Damn those fumes make me feel something terrible. I'll be back shortly." She promptly turned on the heels of her feet and with a soft crack and a ruffle of robes, she disappeared.

Sephiroth turned to his two friends. "Just so you're informed, you both sound the same." He informed them blankly

" **No, I don't!** " They exclaimed at the same time in outrage.

Cloud snickered again and he raffled the boy's head again. "Right. Where does your sister have her potions?" she had forgotten to give them the Pepper-ups.

The chocobo headed blonde grasped his hand and the General allowed himself to be dragged to the kitchen. He could get used to this.

Linelinelinelineline

Turks were so fun to mess with. Especially the tight laced ones. They became so twitchy and paranoid, jumping at minor sounds, glancing at shadows and downing coffee with the gallon. In all honesty Sirius never saw the appeal of the beverage, he was a full blooded Brit. And he had tried the good stuff his goddaughter had. He could comprehend how these poor bastards were able to drink this dark brown sludge that the Company tried to convince everybody was acceptable for human consumption. He contemplated switching the supply with Bella's, show these pitiful souls what actual quality was like. But then switching back to the substandard swamp water would probably destroy them. Maybe switch to decaf instead? Which would be less cruel?

"How about you leave the poor saps alone for a bit. That is an idea." The voice belonged to a woman, looking in her mid-twenties, with short curly black hair and dark magenta coloured eyes, wearing the standard Reaper uniform. Suit jacket and trousers only she preferred classic black pumps. On her thighs were straped two fans, her weapons of choise, and in one of the loops of her pants was hanging a small intricate lantern. She was of average height and stature even with her high heels. How women walked on those he would never understand. The woman's name was Shatona Wolfe and she was one of the local Reapers. She eyed him with only a raised brow to show her dismay, holding her Record Book like it could be used as a blunt force weapon in any second. It was a clear warning. "I'm already horrifically overworked as is. I would very much rather you don't lead any of this world's inhabitants to an early death from stress. That would be extra work and I would be very…displeased." her eyes narrowed and darkened, as if she was channeling the Hellfire itself.

He backed away a few steps with his hands up in the universal, and interdimentional sighn of surrender. "Now, now Mrs Wolfe, would you be so cruel as to deprive me of a way to kill my boredom?" he bantered back but she was having none of it today. "If it is so boring, then perhaps i should put a world out to the Boss, I am certain there will be something for you to do to rid you of all the extra energy." she shot back at him. She was very tempered today, there was usually banter between them….

"Are you alright, Chaton?" he tried cautiously. Fortunately for him she reacted positively to the nickname and deflated with a pitiable sigh. She moved to the closest wall, flattened her back against and leaned her haid back.

"No, Black. I am not even in the vicinity of alrighthood." she answered with a disgruntled grimace. She covered her eyes with a hand and let out another breath, this one considerably shaky. "My transfer isn't going through." she said through gritted teeth.

Oh, that would do it. "Any indication as to why?"

"It's the same. Not enough people up here." she sighed and pushed herself off the wall.

Sirius grimaced. The words 'horrifically overworked' were nowhere near an overstatement here. More like an extreme understatement. Gaia was one of the worlds that suffered the most in that aspect, however, miraculously, it was also one of the top worlds suffering from the least delay. The Reapers here were some of the best in the Multiverse and their work ethic was fiendish.

He took a couple steps closer and leaned down to be in eye level with her. She looked at him from under her lashes, her face a perfectly blank mask. "Tell you what. When is your next day off?" he coaxed gently.

The woman took a moment and answered with surety. "Two months."

He smiled and placed a hand on one of her stiff shoulders. "How about you come to where I'm staying then, with my Boss? We can drink ourselves silly and drag Andrew in too and Bella and you can be mothered by Haile. Relax a bit. You deserve it." he spoke gently and she just gave him raised brow.

"I am dead Sirius. You know what that means. I don't belong there, with the living. You and the Brat get a pass but not me." she shot him down blankly and turned to walk away.

"Then why are you trying so hard?" he challenged with crossed arms. She turned furiously to look at him, her composure fraying visibly by the second and grabbed him roughly by his lappel to drag him down to her hight

"You already know and I am not speaking it again for the benefit of your pea sized brain, Black. And you know it is most certainly not the same." she hissed dangerously. If he weren't dead already, the force of that glare would have to _buried_ him.

Before she could continue he pushed her hand of his front shoftly. "You only hurt yourself like that Chaton. I'm just trying to help you. You're not the only one invested." he spoke soothingly and she just scoffed and pushed hershelf off him with perhaps a little bit more force than necessary. "I'll think about it." that was a no, but he would pester her till then. He had two months in front of him. He grinned snd caught up to her. "Excellent, how about we go grab coffee before I have to part ways from your wondrous presence?" he proded her and received another scoff in return.

"You are insufferable."

Linelinelinelineline

Late that afternoon Sephiroth returned after another walk with his father, this one considerably less awkward, even if the man still felt so bad. Vincent had relented that he would probably never be able to apologize as much as he felt he must. Still, Bella had asked, very politely at that, if possible while they were out, they could pick up a couple plants for her. They had made an outing out of it, since they were both so socially awkward. They of weren't using it as an excuse to avoid conversation, of course not.

They sure didn't understand the band look she gave them once they came back and eventually presented the excessive fruits of their labors.

When they finally came back they followed the sound of conversation to the kitchen were Cloud was zipping around, tinkering with the machines that he refused to even try to name and his two friends were talking with a mug each.

"Welcome back, would either of you like some coffee?" the little boy offered with a smile.

"I will be taking you up on that offer." Vincent perched on the other doorway of the room and depositing the back of herbs on the counter on the way.

"How did it go?" Sephiroth asked and nodded as well in ascent.

"Bizarre, no surprise there. ' _The_ _wandering_ _soul_ _knows_ _no_ _rest'_ , never will I suspect. " Genesis scoffed and Cloud bumped him with a scowl.

"Apparently, Gakusei should be careful for scavenger spirits, something called a Debukk and a demon vortex. According to her scrying some kids played with something called a spirit board, a lesser demonic spirit came through and later was cast out, but, it is stated in religious text that if a demon is cast out it will later return with seven more powerful than itself which it did, shocker, one of them created the vortex which is attracting more spirits. He didn't look too thrilled." Angeal elaborated with a heavy dose of sass and took a sip of his drink. Wow, Sephiroth expected these levels from Genesis.

"I'd imagine." Vincent commented.

With a clinking of cups Cloud delivered their drinks to them and both took a moment to savor the heaven served to them. He should learn how to use the machines and see if Bella could get him one. There was no way he was going back to Shin-ra grade coffee after this.

"Is he going to be fine?"

Cloud nodded. "He looked like it. He said he was calling a more dark oriented witch called Annora and he left quickly after. He said it was not the first time he was dealing with something like that."

"Really? What about after?"

"I helped Nee-san with her presents. We only got halfway through, most of them consumables. Gakusei also gave her a new scythe."

"Wait, she uses a scythe?" Angeal asked surprised. He couldn't blame him, Bella was too slight for her to possibly handle such a weapon. Seemingly.

"And a curved greatsword, and throwing knives and an gun." Vincent added ' helpfully'

"She's currently trying to incorporate a second scythe to her fighting style." The boy chirped in addition. Apparently not. She was upping it to two…

At that moment there was a very familiar cackling to Sephiroth's ears, coming from behind the door leading to the sitting area. Vincent thumped his head to the wood of the doorway with a sigh and raised a hand to his face. "Were there games included in her presents?"

The little boy laughed knowingly. "Yep. Survival horror, this time."

"I don't think that was a reaction fitting survival _horror_." The redhead deadpanned

"Leave logic at the door." Vincent 'cautioned' while taking another sip.

Linelinelinelineline

That night Sephiroth had a suspicion. A suspicion that was proven justified as he saw the young woman huddled in her couch, swaddled in a fluffy blanket facing a television screen. The pale light illuminated her features in a way that made her look an otherworldly kind of sickly.

"Sleepless again today, I see." He absently noted.

"Yeah. Not really feeling it." She replied nonchalantly "Is there something I can do for you Sephiroth?" she turned to him in interest.

"No."

"Then are you unable to sleep also?" she pushed further.

"No."

"Are you deliberately awake?" she was baffled. "Why"

"I decided to keep you company." Though it wasn't really difficult to stay awake. All that was needed was a single though of Hojo and Sephiroth and suddenly there only existed dread. Even if Hojo was not his father so he couldn't hold that over his head anymore, the deranged man could still cause him pain. And that was enough.

She chuckled. "That isn't necessary of you" she spoke kindly.

"No." he disagreed "I feel it is." He cut her off. "You have been only kind and helpful. Keeping you company is the least I can offer."

She just look at him speechless. Was it really that bizarre? "In that case, would you like some coffee?" she finally collected herself.

He shook his head. "You don't need to do that."

She easily dismissed that. "That's what magic's for silly. I feel lazy right now." She waved a hand and cup and a saucer appeared, before filling themselves up and floating up to each of them.

"If it's this easy for you to for that, I admire that you do not." He commented as he took a sip.

"The wizards of my country have made…valiant…efforts to make everything easier on themselves, but all I see is sloth and arrogance. Take away the wands and they're useless. After that happened to me, I resolved myself to never be that hopeless. And so I made sure I wouldn't need a wand anymore even though I keep it for some more delicate work and to maintain the illusion. And I also made damn sure that should my magic ever become inaccessible to me to still be able to come on top. It's a work on progress in the relying part, but there are such moments that I allow myshelf the luxury." She took a sip of her drink as well and let out a content sigh.

"Is magic difficult without a wand?"

"For them? Nigh impossible. Some struggle with wordless casting. There are very few that pursue magic like the art that it is, rather take is as a granted tool." She shrugged. Then she paused "Though it's funny how I have three wands and two additional channeling foci, yet I realistically need none of them." She giggled.

"I see. But you don't advertise it." He observed.

"They had already declared me rotten by then, it would only give them fuel. I had already lived a witch hunt. I couldn't go through another one so soon after." She sighed, a desperate tone in her voice. It was almost…like she was pleading him to not tell her to go back? Did she think he would criticize her choice?

Sephiroth liked to believe he was a smart person, so he gathered what she had so readily given away and took a guess. "They kept asking things of you. Asking…but never giving back." The sharp inhale he was rewarded with told him he hit the nail in the head. "They never listened to you." That's why she was so eager to talk to whomever was wiling to listen. Nobody did that before. He'd also hazard a guess and assume that she had left abruptly and very much in a hurry

She went to say something but cut herself off. A sound came from her throat as she tried to realign her thoughts but he stopped her again. "Don't push it. I will listen whenever you want to talk. Me and Angeal and Genesis." He took a moment to congratulate himself for smoothness. No matter how uncomfortable he was.

She just looked at him, eyes blown wide, uncomprehending of this small kindness and then she just laughed. Not hysterically nor cackling, just laughed and smiled and teared and she just lit up like that. Sephiroth decided that laughter fit her so much better. The next time Genesis called him an icicle he was going to rub this in his face.

Her laugh subsided and wiped her eyes with a hand messily. "Thank you Sephiroth. I will take you up on that."

He leaned back with an arm thrown over the back of the couch he was inhabiting. "Hn. Your people are incompetent."

"Logic is not their strong suit." She relented with an uncaring shrug.

"I would swear that neither is yours." He threw back.

"Burn! How you wound me so!" she laughed again and Sephiroth really enjoyed her laugh.

"Sure…"

"Well, since you decided to keep me company, grab a blanket and get comfortable. There's this new game that I so wanted to try since it came out." She grabbed the console from the table in front of her and with a wave of her had she had the system working.

"Father is right when he calls you obsessed."

"Obsession is a strong world. I prefer passionately appreciative."

"Hn." 'Sure. Whatever helps you sleep at night.' "So what is it this time?" he said instead.

"Resident Evil 7."

"Didn't you liken 6 to garbage?"

"7 was very good. It redeemed them from the dumpster fire that was 6." She dismissed "The team was much smaller this time too and more concentrated."

"How are you so sure."

"Nadeshiko told me and she takes horror very seriously, horror fanatic that she is."

"Huh." He shrugged and got more comfortable, it was bound to be entertaining at least.

Linelinelinelineline

It was hours later, albeit entertaining ones, that Bella let out a yawn. She put down the controller and stretched. "I suppose that's enough for today." Then turned to him and smiled softly. "Thanks for staying with me. My team and I do that a lot back home actually. Or did anyway. I don't know how long it will take to finish here." She rubbed her eyes with her palms. "But then again, with Yuri and Tsukiyo I don't know, they might rig something up." she muttered

It seemed that even if she disliked her world she really missed her friends. It must have been really difficult for her at first. Actually, it mustn't be easy for her, even now. She sure as fuck didn't ask for this to be dropped in her lap, she said she was sent to stop this world from dying and stopping Shin-ra was imperative. Nothing said she had to help them too yet she did it any way. At least she was allowed to interact with her world, her teacher at least understood that dropping someone in a completely unfamiliar place and expecting them to thrive with no further assistance was preposterous.

There was another yawn and he turned towards the witch who was covering her face to hid her yawn. It seemed that while he had been lost in thought she had covered herself more and snuggling into her blanket, struggling to keep her eyes open.

"Shouldn't you try and get some sleep?"

"I wish. I'm not nearly exhausted enough to sleep without nightmares." She exhaled. "You should try to get some sleep, your cells are gonna thank you for it. I'll just close my eyes for a bit before starting breakfast." She snuggled more in her cocoon and leaning her head on the armrest.

"Are you sure?" he was hesitant to just up and leave and go to sleep. It was just so insensitive.

"Don't worry about it. I'm used to it. I feel better anyway." She smiled at him as she relaxed, laying on her side. "Thanks a lot Sephiroth, see you in a couple hours." And she closed her eyes and that was the end of that.

 **Hello there guys, how are you? I'm fine, actually, just busy, but I am back!**

 **Ok, I did research for this one! Like actually dug up some of my father's books research. I suddenly end up knowing so much world mythology that my head spins every time I think of FFVII. And I'm not even putting languages in. What was I thinking when I started this? And on that front I hope that the Greek is readable cause I can't do phonetic to save my life.**

 **Also, do not flay me about Bella's opinions, they are hers, not mine and I tried to stay in character for her. I though that a scorned, slightly misanthropic witch would harbor dislike for the church.**

 **Why don't you guys try to guess who this new Character is, Huh? Cookies for whomever figures it out! ;)**

 **Thank you all for your patience and reviews and follows and favorites, I still can't believe that I keep getting notifications for those! I love you all so much!**

 **Have a wondrous day**

 **~Sil**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

 **Helloooooo! How ya doing? I'm good. So here's another chapter. Sorry… I had…problems… I though5 that I had lost the Chapter for enough time to fucking rewrite it….then I remembered that I am a paranoid bitch that saves everything everywhere… so here we are.**

 **Ooooh by the way, cause I've seen this a couple times. English is not my first language and I don't use any spell checking app or anything. That's because I want to better my English by constantly practicing it. Everything here is written on my phone, which is low-key a piece of inconvenient excrement with a buggy keyboard. But still, it makes my heart swell seeing you guys worry about me. I love you so much!**

 **So this is my attempt at world building…so research…**

Things went on in a lazy pace. It was a truly wonderful vacation for the three SHOLDIERs so far. Punctuated with explosions and low-key insanity but still wonderful (edible chocolate Touch-me's and crazy owl included). Well, there was a respite to the explosions for a day or two now, about a week into their stay, so they shouldn't complain too much they supposed, it could have been continuous. Apparently Bella got tired of her potions blowing up on her. Genesis still managed to scrape up a gripe about wilting instincts though (apparently).

The downside was that the resident witch was _brooding._ And even Cloud was hard pressed to do anything. Now brooding wouldn't have been bad had it been just that. But no, Bella's brand of sulking involved research. A lot of it. For the last two days, day in and day out the witch could be found in various states of disarray, on the couch, on the table, in the gardens and even in her labs, swathed with books and papers with a quill in her hand, _a feather quill,_ writing and sighing and biting her lip and carding hands through her hair to the point that they though she was going to tear off chunks. Not to mention the very heavy aura around her that she only made worse by foregoing her beloved tea and chugging down coffee, so dark and heavy anyone would be excused to mistake it for poison, like water.

Sephiroth, Genesis and Angeal though it worrying. Everybody else informed them it was normal.

Even worse, Sei hadn't called for three days now and the latest update two days ago, conveniently around the time Bella entered her funk, said: "I kinda have a plan. Wish me luck."

Not worrisome at all.

Also, Andrew had been recalled four days prior so now they had no plan, a low functioning witch and no clue as to what to do next.

Well, until they gathered their wits and decided to actually prod a bit. After witnessing the *cough* rather familiar *cough* funk, Angeal proposed an idea, and after arduous back and forth arguing between the Therapists Union Impromptu, comprised of the Shinra three and Cloud – Vincent The Traitor had bounced - it was decided it would be up to one of them to appease the beast. By throwing them into the middle of the all but visible, minefield. And the one entrusted with that most important duty was…Sephiroth. The most emotionally challenged person in the entire fucking planet. And such a decision was made using the illustrious and decisive method of drawing lots. And they didn't trust him at all about it either, they had set up in the next room ready to swoop in and salvage whatever mess he made.

Thanks guys.

"So…do you wanna talk about it?" Smooth…

The woman slowly raised her head from where she was pouring over calculations and formulas for days, with eyes that could only be likened to that of a dead fish, and gave him the look that question _deserved_. He congratulated himself for not caving.

They stayed there, him looking at her blankly and her looking at him unimpressed. Just before he would have started sweating she hung her head with an exhale and removed her glasses. When she raised it again her eyes were closed and one of her hands was rubbing them. "I worried you guys, didn't I?" she drawled rhetorically. She sighed and leaned back with her eyes still closed.

"Where do I start…?" She opened one eye to look at him "And for that matter, are you sure you want to hear this?"

"I specifically told you. So that is a yes." He smirked

"Cheeky." She chuckled. Ok. This was a good start. "Ok, combination of stuff. But mostly number one: Sei. And I suppose you do have an inclination as to why, correct?"

"Something about a vortex and demons." He recalled Angeal's remark almost a week ago.

"Yeah…Hooo boy...how do I say this…" she fiddled with her hair with one hand while the other was motioning helplessly in the air trying to convey something.

"As it is" at the deadpan tone she froze and gave him another unimpressed look. He just smirked more.

"Shut up. It needs explaining." She whined and took another breath. "It mostly boils down to Sei taking on an extremely dangerous case with semi adequate back up." Yeah, that would do it. He motioned with his hand for her to go on "So. Vortex?" she sighed again.

"Sooo, Vortex." She started explaining "The 7world vortex refers to a whirling mass of something in which a force of suction operates in a way as to draw its surroundings towards its center. A Spiritual Vortex operates similarly. Its definition is taken straight out of Cartesian Philosophy, an ingenious Greek philosopher, and it's defined as a rapid rotatory movement of cosmic matter about a center, regarded as accounting for the origin or phenomena of bodies or systems of bodies in space. We just specify the world matter by using 'energy'." So it needed that much explaining…he felt he might need alcohol for this…

Instead he looked at her blankly.

"I warned you~."

"Shut up and keep talking."

"Umm.."

"I know what I said, keep going."

"Geez. Bossy." A chuckle! Progress!

"By space, we do not necessarily mean outer space, outside the planets atmosphere. The word space is after all very general. It could be anywhere. Now about the cosmic matter. Cosmic is defined as "Of relation to the cosmos" in its most concise meaning, and the one we care about now. Now "Cosmos" comes from the ancient Greek world Kόσμος (Kozmos) and it means, well, world. So by cosmic matter we refer to matter of the world. However, that is not quite it. The word 'world' is not complete identical to 'cosmos'. You see, Greek is a language of many wonderful complexities and there are words that are synonyms and words that are tautonyms or identical an their meaning. Now you may think that there are such words in English but allow me to correct you. You see modern English comes from Latin, which in turn comes from ancient Greek. And also English itself has gone through a bunch of modernizations, Old English, Middle English, Early modern English, you get the gist. And Old English is "English" with big glowing air quotes because by Morgana's titts that stuff cannot be even _read_ as English." She paused to take a breath and continued. "That being said, at some point the English language may have had tautonyms however now there are virtually none and if they are they are not used because nobody cares outside of scientific fields and it's 'too troublesome'. Now back to the subject." She paused. "'Matter' is a very broad concept so energy is of course included, so that's what we use. The Vortex Sei stumbled upon is one of Malevolent Energy. But before we get to that, we need to specify a couple things about the energies. So, let's talk about the spiritual and the different planes." She fucking _clapped_ with mock enthusiasm. "We are getting there I swear."

Actually no, by all means take your time. He had put both his elbows on the table and cupped his hands. He was listening with interest.

"To put it simply, there are things out there that normal people cannot see. That is because they are not of this plane of existence. No matter what plane they inhabit though there are still there and they can sometimes cross to this plane and influence it, sometimes they don't need to cross over to become felt, sometimes we see them sometimes not. Whether they are visible is of minimal importance in comparison to whether they are felt. Emphasis on that. Crossing over, most of the time, while extremely difficult and taxing, is of no conscience. Sometimes things manifest out of nowhere in a way that can't be replicated as this particular subject is very wide and the understanding of it rather limited. Most of the times we do cleanup instead of prevention." She lamented. And speaking of manifesting…the pwl decided to intrude on the conversation. The snowy white owl flew over the Silver General's head right onto Bella's bun and nestled there like it was a nest. Bella laughed and raised her fingers for Hedwig to nibble on affectionately.

"And then a Wild Hedwig appeared." she laughed as Hedwig started grooming her hair, disloding tufts from the bun with no care. "Hed, I know my hair is a bird nest. Don't make it worse." she whined only for the owl to actualy bump her head with her beak. "Fine, fine…"

She tuned back to Sephiroth who was looking at her with an amused smirk, valiantly ignoring the owl. "There are many cases of disembodied voices, apparitions and orbs of energy that are associated with spirits, and usually are indeed spirits, to bring up examples. Now, if they can influence this plane _without_ crossing over, that takes significant power and nine times out of ten it's not good. And _here_ , I do not refer only to spirits. The energy those being use to be heard, felt and cross over is _mostly_ electromagnetic energy." _What?_ "Surprised it's not magic mambo jumbo, right?" she chuckled

"But "electromagnetic energy" is found in everything with electricity running through it." He pushed anxious, for once, to be contradicted. Alas…

"Exactly, we have unwittingly given those beings free batteries. Plus do you know how the human body moves? How the nerves work? By electric signals traversing through them. Humans are basically included into the battery category." That was not in any way a pleasant though. "Yeah, it gets better."

He gave her a _look._

"Since electromagnetic energy is indeed a force sustenance, you can imagine it draws them. Now, something just as highly desirable is energy produced by strong emotion. Batteries~."

That's not better, damnit!

"No, it does get better." She tried to comfort him. Wasn't he supposed to be comforting her?

'Thank Gaia…' She giggled. Did he say that out loud? She kept going on though.

"We'll get to emotions later. Anyway, those entities can also draw energy from the earth, magnetic fields and such and that is usually the case. They are usually static, keeping in one place because of a variety of reasons, which is _another_ story, the ones that traverse around are the rather malignant ones, and those are more adept to drawing energy from more sources, but not energy that is anchored somewhere, like people for example. They draw from the earth because that energy is exuded and scatters after that. Keep that in mind. However those are not very common. Many of the being residing in those planes share our own obliviousness as far as the other goes and those that know of us are few and uncaring. From those few knowing, to get a bad one is rare. It is basically another world, quite literally parallel to this one, with its own people going on with their "lives". There are many of those, separated by different means each time." Why did he feel like there was a "but" in there though…?

"So now, after we've established the basics, time to go into Sei-chan's predicament. He is a Curse Breaker so he was called into a farm to deal with a possible curse. Standard stuff. First assessment showed details that didn't add up so he researched further. Here came the less standard stuff. And it was worthy of a _soap_ _opera_." Her lips pulled up on one side in clear disgruntlement. However she looked like the feeling stemmed from familiarity.

"Soooo it comes down to old, bitter, bitch committing an array of crimes, including falsifying records and fraud, child snatching, premeditated murder and general bitchiness caused only by what I can only imagine to be overwhelming need to spread the misery, just because poor the victim, let's call her Anna, didn't want to have an abortion. After that blackmailing and predetermined murder again and getting away scot free. Let's call her Bitch. Emotions ensue and Bitch ends up with a spirit attachment." Her fingers start tapping the table's wooden surface in an attempt to work out the frustration. The hostility was very much clear.

"Seriously?"

"Yep. Bitch had a son who developed Leukemia. Anna actually did try to see if she could donate the marrow. However, the procedure was so risky, no doctor was willing to take the responsibility. And in the end the little boy died. Tragic, I know, but nothing could be done. And when nothing can be done, you mourn and put one foot after the other eventually and move on." The 'That's what I did.' Was heavily implied even if she probably didn't realize it. "Even with Bitch pushing for Anna to have the abortion and she were indeed to do, there was a chance of her not being able to conceive after that. No self respecting doctor would take over the responsibility. But nooooo. Bitch decides to blame the poor girl anyway." She spat out. "So the next appropriate step of action is to ruin her life right?"

No it's not!

"So let's frame her for murder!" Wait-what? "So she does that and everything else is explainable if you imagine the worse. I don't want to say more because I am already emotional and my composure is slipping."

"Wait. How did the child snatching come from?" he hesitantly asked.

"EH! Wrong. You are not thinking bad enough. But I will tell you that Anna went to prison two times. Bitch's scheme worked and eventually led to Anna's death in prison via "suicide" the second time. See if you can fit that somewhere in there." Yeah, not buying the suicide claim. Following the conversation's train of thought that was the second murder…

Sephiroth himself was if not quite shocked, very much taken aback. He wasn't sheltered in any way, shape or form but he did not want to believe the level of maliciousness, excluding very specific cases *cough* Hojo *cough* Shin-ra *cough*.

"Wait so the bitch got away scot free?" Genesis was suddenly next to him, slamming his hands on the table in outrage. " _'My friend the fates are cruel.'_ "There went all pretense. Really man! That wasn't even that long!

"Quite disheartening." That was Angeal from the doorway, practically fuming at the injustice.

The little blonde approached first and sits next to her in a show of support.

She exhaled in fond exasperation and she motioned for the other two to sit. And they did, not even pretend to justify the eavesdropping. The got their seats and looked at her expectantly.

"So, who paid attention and can tell me what this can cause?"

It was Angeal who answered. "Strong emotions. Did _it_ draw the demon you mentioned? A debbuk, I think you called it?"

She clapped twice, with a laugh. "5 points to Mr. Hewley. You are correct on your first statement. But the demon came after."

She quickly sobered up and continued. "These cases usually yield unrested spirits and in more serious cases, vengeful ones. As is, those spirits are grounded to their place of death unless something happens to anchor them somewhere else. Something that would require a large amount of energy. Things stayed calm for a while. An unrested spirit, unable to interact with the world despairing in its haunting grounds." Her voice and gaze lowered in sadness and disgust and pulled the chocobo haired boy to her lap who just rolled his eyes allowing himself to be manhandled into the embrace. Quite the long suffering image. He shot the tree SHOLDIERs a _look_ full of _not-a-word-you-insensitive-ingrates!_ Hedwig was looking at them too, this one being far more unsettling. Bella saw nothing as her face was staring at them full of sadness on top of the fluffy blonde crown.

"That's all a fundamentally good human spirit can do. For despite all the pain and injustice the soul had suffered it remained pure, despite the utter hatred felt. She hadn't the desire to cause harm. Make the bitch pay, yes. But not truly harm. All she wanted was justice. And I say, how noble and admirable of you ma'am."

"Not naïve?" Angeal prodded gently.

"No. We are human. At the end of the day our humanity is all that's left in us. That vague sense resembling a conscience. It's what differentiates us from the monsters out there." She shrugged

"Quite hopefull for a misanthrope." Cloud jabbed.

"Hey I'm twenty one. I have time to deal with the vitriol yet." She laughed and poked his forehead. "But let's get back to the story, shall we?".

"As mentioned, the attachment didn't happen immediately upon death, it kept in the prison cell for a while. Until the time of the funeral. The woman's ex arranged it, who by the way we are going to be naming "Dick" henceforth." Yeah, not a good person either. "It was a small thing full of the kitsch and arrogance you would expect from the people who think that are better than everyone else. Makes me want to start casting curses _myself_ they are so insufferable." She looked up with a wistful little smile. Considering she was someone with connections, a _witch_ for that matter, they believed she could. "So Dick and Bitch decided to play the caring and loving relatives and visit the cell she died in. You know, for reasons. Bad move on both their parts." 'Let me guess, emotions ensue and Anna anchors herself on Bitch?'

"I see you figured it out." She stated. It was all over their faces they would bet.

"Luck would have it that they decided to visit at the same day. And Bitch's hatred and petty satisfaction along with Dick's self-righteousness mixed with Anna's despair and rightful hatred and anger, produced enough energy to anchor onto Bitch. Funny thing with spirit attachments is that they work by siphoning energy. And if you put all the negativity into perspective, it would not be a leap to consider the energy taken detrimental. Couldn't happen to a better person. Bitch moved to Australia after a while and now we are at square one."

With a wave of her hand cups floated into the room and deposited themselves in front of them, filling automatically with drinks. She picked her cup and took a long sip. "Gakusei however does not get called when black liquid started coming out of the faucets. First thing you start worrying about is something wrong with the water supply, perhaps something got in there. Chemical lab results show, and please put the cups down and swallow first-" She actually stopped to make sure they did as instructed, which the did with mounting confusion. "-that the black substance is the result of a human body in the late stages of decomposition."

 _Eugh!-_

There was clear inflection to her voice, clearly holding back a gag. They couldn't blame her. They themselves shuddered in disgust and Genesis even let out a gagging noise.

"At that point you call the police obviously. The dead body must have come from somewhere, it must _be_ somewhere for that matter. But nothing comes of it and the whole water deposit gets scraped and bottled water has to come from the outside. Still, that's not when you call the priest. No, you call the priest when the normal water starts turning into corpse sludge the moment it touches the lips." There was another gag there and she clenched her jaw immediately after. "And it continues happening again and again and again. However, that is not when you call the curse breaker. You call the curse breaker when the priest can do jack shit and calls the exorcists. And you call Gakusei when the exorcist says he can do jack in return. You may not realize as you have zero context, but when the exorcisms fail that is classified as FUBAR. You know what that means I suppose." She trailed off suggestively.

How could they not. It was a concept they were most intimately acquainted with - _thank you Shin-ra! -_ much to their chagrin.

Fucked-Up-Beyond-Recognition.

"Or at least that would have been the logical though process." Ohhhh- "Let me guess? She did nothing about it? Oh _'Infinite in mystery is the gift of the Goddess.'_ " Genesis interjected with a derisive smirk. One that was reciprocated by the witch and that was all they needed to understand.

"How long?" Angeal inquired almost uncaring. The honorable man was the one most disturbed by the heinous slight against an innocent. All three of them were presently enjoying every little bit of hardship the despicable woman would have suffered.

"A year." A scoff escaped Sephiroth. Bella just laughed along

"It gets better. The idiotic woman didn't call for help after the water supply got ruined. She waited for the whole grounds to be swarmed with _giant_ _centipedes_ , then cockroaches to come in swarms so thick they _blackened_ _the_ _sky_ , _then_ the meat to start rotting right in front of her and then she started getting sick with alarming frequency and _then_ she finally called for help. At this point she deserves anything she gets, methinks."

Because really woman? What are you, daft?

"We call this type of person "Dumb Horror Movie Fodder". Fitting for those stupid enough to make decisions only seen in dumb plots to mask poor writing."

"I don't think I understand the reference." The Crimson Commander titled his head and raised an eyebrow.

An affronted stare.

"What do you mean? Wait no scratch that. Do you know what a horror movie _is_?"

" _Yes_." They answered together with looks that spelled 'are you stupid'?

"And?" she prompted almost desperately.

"They're stupid." He was ever savagely blunt.

"Well, yes. And? No impact?" Oh she was half hysterical.

"Of course not. Only a civy would be anything but bored with them. _"Ripples from the water's surface"_ " The Crimson Commander scoffed.

Her neck suddenly lost the ability to support her head as her forehead slammed into the table. "Oh sweet Hecate, you haven't seen a decent horror movie." She whispered with utter horror. Her head whipped up so quickly there were audible cracks from her neck. "Don't you worry. I will make personally sure such a crime is rectified." She exclaimed with zealous enthusiasm.

"Uhh thank you…?" Genesis grabbed his childhood friend's arm under the table trying to stealthily shove the bigger man in front of him and between the zealot of a woman with a demented gleam in her eyes.

Cloud was shooting them pitying looks. "Let me tell you most sincerely, it was an honor knowing you." He said solemnly.

"Back to Bitch please!" Genesis fumed as his friend rooted himself in place and refused to budge. Sephiroth heard him mutter about _wandering_ _souls_ and _no_ _rest_

"Oh right." She hit her open palm with her fist. "Where was I? Calling help, right." She coughed and got back into her narration.

"Gakusei was called partly due to the FUBAR rating and partly because the happenings seemed to only affect the land. Ergo, it's the land that's cursed. Here's when things get muddled. The event started ten years into Bitch living there and keep that ten in mind. These events like those rounded numbers. Since it didn't start immediately after she moved in that means that something triggered it. Here comes the fuckstick with the item we mentioned a week ago that got killed in some kind of jumped up ritual. Neither the ritual nor the item matter, we found. What does matter is the energy it released. And that jumpstarted the Vortex." She finalized. A hand was raised only to dramatically drop in an arc with a comically bemused look. Uh-oh. "Based on all that was said, what does a vortex mean in this context?" she sighed, almost defeated. Why?

"A Vortex is a point were energy congregates you said." Genesis answered absently. "So it draws entities."

"And?" she prompted him to keep going on that trail of thought, her hand making a circular motion.

"That makes it easier to communicate-"

"And crossover." Angeal had the epiphany.

"They're portals, aren't they?" Sephiroth round everything up. "Convoluted."

"Bingo!" she clapped twice "And open one's at that. Those don't close unless you dissipate them and that's hard on a good day. If they are capable of dissipating at all. How's that for convoluted?"

"Now depending on what passes through, the energy becomes corrupted. So Vortex of Malignant Energy or Malignant Vortex." She raised a hand in a stopping motion. "Vortexes have many classifications and types and I am _not_ getting into that _now._ " She halted that train of thought shooting a look at Genesis. "There are books in the library and we can go through them later. Please. Just. Let me finish this." She whimpered pitifully and he caved instantly. The little boy in the witch's lap snorted.

" _Now_ comes the debbuk." Shs picked up where she left off. "A debbuk is an evil spirit in Jewish mythology. It will not depart from the world until it's goal is accomplished. Supposedly. It gets attributed some freaky stuff actually. The most famous case is that of a man who came into possession of a wine cabinet and started immediately upon opening it having horrible nightmares. The owner then decided to give it away, gifting it to his mother, I hope unknowingly, or else _yikes_ , who had a stroke the very same day." _Yikes_ , was _not_ the word you are looking for here, Lady. "From then on every owner would report terrible events upon coming into possession of it. After investigation the box was discovered to be containig a debbuk. Experience indicates though that they are malignant spirits that may or may not move on after their goal is accomplished." She griped with a twitching eyebrow. "They tend to be awfully stingy about information for spirits supposedly crying for help and in the end you just find yourself wade through the _muck_ and still not knowing _shit._ And they are body snatchers too. Best way to deal with it is an exorcism like any evil spirit. They are extremely annoying to deal with." She carded a hand through her hair looking very much disgruntled.

"In this case, it would be normal to assume that Anna would absorb the Vortex's energy and become a debbuk. That would be a no. The debbuk got through the Vortex, lured by what could only be described as an all-you-can-eat-buffet of negative emotions. To use a metaphor, a Vortex is like a carcass that can vultures sniff out from miles away. And like vultures, malignant entities never attack an able-bodied target, instead going for those that can't do nothing in defense." She explained.

"That was demon number one. But like all demons, they corrupt and destroy and Anna's spirit started to slowly succumb. From spirit with unfinished business to spirit with unfinished business the debbuk started feeding into her despair, and in return feeding off of her emotions a sick kind of codependency was born. And that's how things escalated. You see the first exorcism did in fact work, but because of that bond the debbuk was anchored to the plane through Anna who was in turn anchored to Bitch, and was able to return. And as mentioned before, it is specifically stated in religious texts that should a demon be cast out, it is possible to return with 7 more powerful than itself. Good fucking luck cleaning up that mess." She stopped talking and for the first time she didn't seem to plan to continue.

"And?" Genesis prompted expectantly.

"And what?" she asked innocently.

"What then?"

"I kinda have a plan. Wish me luck." She answered blankly.

"Wait, that's it? _"My friend the fates are cruel_ , _There are no dreams, no honor remains."_ You're killing me here!"

"That makes two of us." She responded scathingly.

"Why would he leave you hanging like that?" Angeal placed a hand at his friend's shoulder in an attempt to calm the irritated man.

She paused, mulling it over, struggling to answer. "How to put it…" they heard her mutter.

She finally gulped and gave up, apparently, head hanging in resignarion. "Not him. His back up." She answered with a long suffering sigh. "She's from a different team. Team H.A.W.X. If you remember, that stands for High Altitude Warfare eXperimental…F.E.A.R is disassembly," she leaned on her head on her fist and raised her pointer finger on the other hand. "H.A.W.X. is demolition." The middle finger joined its neighbor. "And while in both cases something is going to be in shambles by the end, we are a bit more tactical about it. Fuck, she usually does bounty hunts!" She sighed and raised her fingers for Hedwig to nip at comfortingly. "Aerial spellcasters are generally not easily taken down dew to how well they navigate three dimensions, and she's taken that on a completely different level." She let out a beleaguered sigh and her hand dropped. "Plus, she is the least vulnerable of the two and she's not exactly used to having to take that into consideration."

"Is that what you meant by semi-adequate?" Sephiroth remembered her previous statement.

"Pretty much."

"Out of curiosity, were you there, how would you have gone about it?" Gen had his notebook out in an instant and ready to take notes.

Bella straightened her back. "That is also a reason I worry. Me and Sei mesh together very well. We are both academics at heart and where I am lacking he compensates and vice versa. That's why we have the patience to deal with half the bull we come across, because we know that someone's got our back." How wonderful was the relationship she was describing… "He knows how to take down wards and I know the runes and formulas to do it as well as siphon the energies out so as to not influence anything nearby, the blast zone if you would. In such a case, I would set up a safe space, impenetrable and unplottable, and he would go about guiding me in dissolving everything negative he locates slowly and steadily, until the safe space basically expands and settles over the entire area. Now the demons are cut off of one of their power sources. Then I would set up a filtering ward over using the base safety ward and he would slowly take down the Vortex. That way the energy returns back to the earth via the ley lines. That is power source No 2 also gone. Now the demons are mostly cut off. Next, make sure we can't get possessed, since we are doing the exorcising. Next, a slew of purification and exorcism rituals would take place and the demons' hold weakens until it's gone and then a banishment ritual." She ticked of each step with her fingers by grabbing them individually, emphasizing the steps individually.

She finished by semi-dramatically joining them together, unintentionally bringing notice to her perfectly manicured, and claw looking, nails "All in all it's a lengthy process that needs to happen in the least time possible so that any entities don't have any time to recuperate but also not exhaust the ones doing it so as to be able to deal with anything that could possibly go wrong, which are, also…a lot, for like… _every_ _phase_ , like…let's not even start. At best, theoretically, a week's worth of hassle. At _best_. Usually, the average is _three_. Yeah. _That_ bad."

"' _My soul…'_ and with this Annora girl?" Genesis attempts.

The look she shots him tells them everything.

"Wait, how would you be doing all this with your sleep issues? Isn't all of this very tiring?" Sephiroth had an epiphany.

"That is correct. I would have to be about up to a week off of a sleep cycle to finish the entire process in the span of one - one and a half weeks." She admitted effortlessly.

"How redundant would it be to inquire about Annora's abilities? Out of curiosity really." The General inquired under the hope that that would placate the woman's worries even if by a little. She had acknowledged that this Annora was skilled, even implied extraordinarily so. She only lacked in forethought. So it would make sense that Gakusei would be able to at least wrangle her a bit.

He seemed to be right because she actually lit up after contemplating the question. She straightened her back and let up her grip on Cloud as she leaned in to answer.

But. Well…

An honest to Gaia portal opened up over the table, or it _must_ have, they didn't catch sight of it, because something must have spat out those eight, very unsettling boxes. Bella actually squeaked in surprise and recoiled. Or perhaps alarm. Her eyes widened as she took them in and her breath quickened as she tightened her hold on Cloud protectively. She was actually _frightened_. That alone was enough to put them on edge.

The boxes were not themselves disconcerting. It was more the fact that they were sealed shut by red _wax._ Just strange enough a point to set off bells. Then two seconds after they cluttered on the table there was a something akin to a _spark_ and something was _wrong_. An ominous feeling was spreading from them.

A piece of paper fluttered down from nowhere and she snatched it from the air as soon as it was within arm's reach. Her eyes furiously and desperately went back and forth from the boxes to the letter, progressively widening and becoming more luminous as she read through the contents. The now glowing emerald orbs swayed left to right and up and down enough that they could tell that she actually went through the thing at least three times. Her control over her magic seemed to be slipping along with her composure too, as pieces of hair escaped the bun she had twisted them into and floated in a nonexistent wind.

And then everything just stopped.

She took a deep breath and slowly and calmly put the letter down. There was a feeling of _zenith_.

A soft clinking sound drew their attention to the witch's cup, well away from her arms, to the side. A long crack was now running through the porcelain.

She sighed and the pressure immediately disappeared. There was the slightest movement as she snapped her fingers and the cup was again pristine. The only thing left was the unsettling feeling emitted by the boxes.

"God Fucking Damnit." Or at least they though. The accent was slipping too, apparently.

Yeah no. Something was very wrong.

Bella visibly sagged and folded in. She put her face in her hands and took a very shaky breath. "I apologize." She said feebly. "That was unnecessary." She let one hand fall as the other massaged the bridge of her nose. With her free hand she made a sweeping motion towards the boxes. "That's what Annora can do. If banishment or outright destruction are out of her power, confinement is the next best thing. Each of these boxes has a demon sealed in it." She sounded exhausted. "Or at least partly."

Their eyes swiveled to the boxes immediately. And they were kept shut by _wax_? And were _dropped_?

She fully righted herself again, her eyes completely devoid of the previous spark and extended her right arm over the clutter of boxes, palm spread and facing downwards.

Sephiroth was the first to talk. "Awfully careless treatment of them then." He remarked scathingly. The General relaxed a little back into his chair and crossed his arms. His eyes were glued to the boxes cautiously.

And really, what else could be said.

"You don't say." The witch snarked her airborne hand wobbled a bit. "That was Dear Master Zelretch's handiwork. Fucking asshole must have thought it would be funny to unleash a fucking demon in a different fucking world. Next time I see him he's getting fucking stabbed." She bent her fingers viciously, a true facsimile of claws, and move up in a pulling gesture. A circle of light appeared under the boxes, characters lighting up and arranging themselves along the outside of the rim. Another smaller circle appeared right under her hand with decidedly different, more rounded characters, this one slowly rotating counter clockwise. She frowned and bit her lip in clear distaste. "God Fucking Damnit Annora!" she murmured again followed by a fast paced array of comments in, probably, Japanese. The, up till now, only slightly, distraught blonde on the witch's lap perked up immediately and raised his head to look at her in incredulity "You gonna do what with her broom?"

A bark of laughter left them compulsively and the tense atmosphere was gone as they kept laughing.

"Anyway, what's up with these?" Angeal redirected their attention to the boxes. "You said they contain demons."

"Other than the fact that one of them has a debbuk in it so nightmares in the least because none of these are properly sealed? Exactly that. She doesn't have the ability to completely seal them so some of their influence seeps through." She sighed in frustration. Her other hand was again carded through her hair. She was really upset. A part off them scoffed at the out of hand, almost dramatics. "She actually admitted that this is why she sent them to me." She dislodged her hand from her face and grabbed the paper and waved it for further emphasis. "Not that it's her fault, I'll give her that. Her magic is differently aligned. She's like the witches you read about in story books, the ones that put curses on people for imaginary slights and are slayed by some knight. Summoning them to wreak havoc would be more her cup of tea. Or shot of vodka. Whatever. Fucking Hag." She mumbled even more exploitives under her breath, only some of witch they caught.

"I would have, however, liked to be informed about this before hand if not consulted. I would have liked to prepare for one." She frowned in exhaustion as she let the circles dissipate and retrieved her hand.

"Is sealing them that difficult?" Genesis' tone while not exactly rife with derision, had obvious disbelief. They were just a couple boxes. Angeal shot a sideways glance at his friend and noticed the look Cloud _and_ Hedwigwere shooting them. While all Cloud acomplished was look like a miffed kitten, when it came to the owl…if looks could kill…

She returned his look with a perfect you-are-an-idiotic-dunderhead-and-I-am-not-impressed Snape replica, raised brow and all. "Normally no. However _I am not the only one living here_ now." She stressed that pointedly. "While they themselves are sealed and can do little more than jack like that,-" there was a minute movement, an eyelid twitching "their influence is not. I don't finish them today, or alter the wards, before everyone goes to bed everybody's having nightmares, in the _least_. And not just that. You three, while you're not feeling it you are kinda susceptible because your entire system is _reconfiguring_. You are lacking _basic_ defenses and your recovery could have been _compromised_ had I not been a paranoid biatch and warded all my possessions against _every_ _single_ _possibility_ under the sun. Fuck, you might still be affected and Annora has no such context or even, frankly, the _inclination_ to aqcuire it. She probably didn't even ask Sei about it, which makes me think that he is somehow _indisposed_." Her fuse was going too.

Oh.

She didn't let them reply "Actually wait. I'll show you what I mean." She stood up letting Cloud go and urging Hedwig to get off her head and disappeared with a soft crack only to reappear moments later with a couple devices. Her owl flew off too and disappeared from their sight.

"These are the only purely electronic things I can have without my magic frying them." She placed a round speaker the table along with something that looked like a AC controller. "Spirit box and EMF detector. Normal, and by that I mean non magical, paranormal investigators use these to detect and get in contact with spirits. Since it works I see no problem using them myself. They run on batteries so not too much electricity so they don't fry when they get in contact with magic. Don't get mistaken, you may think that the appliances in this place are electronic, everything runs half on magic too. Everything in here is Japanese as Japan is the inly country able to pull this off. Usually electricity and magic don't mix, don't ask me why, I don't know. Back to the subject." She took the EMF detector and turned it on. "This is easy. You just go around and wait for it to beep." To demonstrate she approached the thing to the cluster and it started beeping, the sound becoming more frantic the closer it got. "Easy. Demons and such beings run predominantly on electromagnetic energy so an easy way to locate them is locate _that_." She turned it off and went to the speaker. "This one passes through radio frequencies in a very rapid pace. Entities pick up words and phrases through the frequencies to communicate. You should be able to get a couple words and phrases. The credibility of this comes from the fact that it swaps frequencies in extreme speeds. Hundred per second speeds. Hearing words let alone phases through it is _statistically_ _unlikely_." She places the thing near the boxes but hesitates.

"Okay. So. I suppose you don't hear any of this." She muttered to herself as she fiddled with the machine, hesitating a bit to turn it on.

Hear what?

She turned to Cloud "Honey, I know you are not a normal kid, but your mental shields are not fully formed yet. Think you can find a reason to stay out of the Tent for the majority of the day?"

The kid looked like he really wanted to object but he didn't say anything. He nodded and waltzed out of the room after giving her a quick hug and telling her to be carefull. She looked like she wanted to _cry_.

What's up with the dramatics?

At that exact moment the damn demented bird flew over them and landed on Cloud's sholdier, _slapping_ their heads with her wings as she went by. And with _force_. Pretty sure there was a _bump_ there! How did the thing build up the speed?!

As soon as Cloud and Hedwig were out of sight the boy high fived the owl and the snowy owl reciprocated with her wing before she went to preening the boys hair. The little blonde actually had knowledge of demonology. After talking to Sei he was bound to have heard a bunch of things. He supposed they would get it at some point but it didn't make it any easier. Now to take his Ma out for the day…

After Cloud left she turned back to them. "Okay, I am turning it on and going to set up the Devil's trap and taking them back up to work. I will probably see you tomorrow." and she popped out again.

As the device was turned on their ears were assaulted with such a quick pace of radio station shuffling that it could be mistaken for static. And nothing else.

"Is that it?"

It was like an invitation and a multi pitched growl came through.

"I think you pissed it off Gen."

. **..** G **e** _ **T**_ **me** **o.** Ut **.**.

Oh?

A screech, cutting out as if to shuffle frequencies then coming back up just as abruptly as it cut off. Only it was far lengthier than the other frequencies so that was not possible.

… **C** -.m **e** O _N_.. **.**

… **Me..**. -F **a.**..v. **.** r _e.._ _ **.**_

 _ **..w**_ E- _s_ ss **S..** _ **a.**_ _._ m _ **e.**_ _.._

Okay. _What the fuck!_

A cacophony of voices vastly different in tone and pitch and even speed yet abnormally homogeneous and it was like an image of gnarly long limbs and reaching ominous claws flashed before them. Sephiroth though he imagined it only to turn to his friends and see them turned too, perfectly synchronized. It had been real.

"Yeah…how about no."

Another screech came through interrupted by unintelligible gurgling only to cut off abruptly and go back to radio frequencies and then again. Only the quality was so much angrier.

They had recoiled immediately, gazes glued to the boxes until Genesis blasted the thing with fire across the room. Blessed silence.

"Gen, do me a favor and shut your mouth for me, please and thank you." Angeal clapped his friend's shoulder roughly.

He groaned and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Damnit she did that on purpose."

Sephiroth didn't know if he agreed or not.

It was Angeal that spoke. "Where the fuck did that come from?" Their gazes swiveled to him. "No really. Where the fuck did that thought just come from? After all _this_ you really think she would do something of such bad taste? You saw how distraught she was. And for that matter, would any of us have believed her otherwise?"

Indeed actually. Where did that come from. And now that he thought of it, where did all of the previous borderline hostility come from too. "Not just that. All of it." He voiced his though.

They all stopped for a moment. Then they looked at the clattered _demon_ _containers_.

"Demons corrupt…" Genesis put everything together. "Shit. Did you see how Cloud acted? Is she going to be okay?" he put his face in his hands.

Sephiroth battled with himself to not say something

That's how Bella found them when she popped back in. Her gaze was drawn to the smoking mess on the opposite wall and then panned back to them. "I'm not gonna ask. You okay at least?"

"Somewhat… What about you?" the black haired Commander nodded. When she said she was going to prepare she has been serious. Like she was expecting a battle she had changed into the robe she had worn that day in the potions lab with a tool belt on her waist. Everything from the goggles on her head to the _metal plated_ boots that peeked under the skirt were pristine. She was currently fixing some glistening sort of bandage around her right wrist all the way up to her elbow.

"Huh. Oh yeah. Old injury. Flares up when I do this sort of work. 'S fine." She waved around her arm to emphasize. "Wanna go decimate a Chalice dungeon, get it out of you system?" she correctly guessed their strung up state.

"What a wonderful idea." He responded darkly.

"Ok" she nodded in acknowledgement repaired the speaker with a wave of her hand and banished it with another along with the other device and went to the boxes and started stacking them on top of each other. "While any and all possible influence should have disappeared when I cast that barrier earlier I also buffed up the wards to incorporate any possible fluctuation and damage. Everything should be fine now. If not I will be in my room in the library. Come to me immediately." She stressed as she hefted the precarious pile and disappeared.

"Wait. Barrier…that was all leftover influence and filtered communication? Oh Goddess!"

Yeah. Better work that aggression off.

linelinelinelineline

It wasn't just _a_ Chalice dungeon but three. Twice. Each. And then just for the lulz they tried something called Dark Souls: Consumed King's Garden. That last one was a _mistake_. (Reduced abilities, cumbersome gear and all the mobility of a rubble filled rubbish bin against the very agile _everything,_ topped off with the salamander with the invisibaby does not a fun time make.) But at least they worked up a couple dozen sweats until all and everything they felt was 'tired'.

Sephiroth remembered dozing off (passing out) on one of the criminally comfortable couches in the small sitting hall out of the VR room, presumably for that exact purpose. He was shaken awake by Vincent.

The General had a new kind of respect for his father after the Spirit Box fiasco. He could only imagine what it would be like for days on end with no kind of protection.

A look around revealed that Genesis and Angeal were sleeping too, leaning against each other no less, with a blanket draped over them.

"Please tell me you took a picture."

His father chuckled. So that was a yes. Unbeknownst to Sephiroth he had sent it to both Cloud and Bella.

He chuckled too and shrugged off his own blanket. "What time is it?" he asked as he folded it. He spotted a cabinet on the corner and walked to it. He was right, that was where the blankets were stored.

"A little over ten"

So he slept for about five hours and he still felt like he'd gone on a three day stake out. And they'd missed dinner. Hmm dinner.

"Who cooked?"

"Bella. Don't ask me how. Sonne's been out all day." This woman, honestly.

"How about you?"

"I ran into her and Cloud. He briefed me about what happened. All I needed to hear was "demons" honestly." Yeah. He would bet.

He nodded and kicked one of Genesis's legs. "Wake up. We have rooms to sleep in."

His friend let out a mighty, jaw breaking yawn and snuggled up to his more muscled friend. Sephiroth heard a click behind him and turned to see his father pocketing his phone. "I need one of those."

"Ask Bella tomorrow."

"Noted."

Since Genesis refused to be cooperative he went for the more reasonable of – in all honesty – all three of them.

"Geal." He shook his shoulder. "We have rooms to sleep in. Come on."

His black haired groaned and pushed his childhood friend off of him, who proceeded to snuggle up the blanket his friend discarded as he got up. He was barely awake though.

"Gen wake up."

No response.

"Genesis."

A grumble.

"Genesis Rapsodos, get up right now or I am torching your book."

An eye opened to deliver a frigid glare. "You dare put a _finger_ on my Loveless and I am torching your _balls_."

Angeal just raised an eyebrow. "You're awake. Good. Get the fuck up. You have a room. Use it."

"Whatever. Fuck you." And he got up and walked off with no further resistance, cussing under his breath.

"Him and his beauty sleep, I swear." Sephiroth muttered in good humor.

Angeal scoffed.

linelinelinelineline

While getting up was the polite thing to do, it was not necessarily the wisest. Or it was perhaps. After they got to their infinitely more criminally comfortable beds their sleep was plagued with nightmares. Each one of them woke up from a fitful sleep in terror, absolutely drenched in sweat and panting like their lungs were constricting and suffocating them. Mere thoughts of the dream had them recoiling and desperately trying to forget. Even now that they were awake it felt.. fake somehow. The _eyes_ were still pinned on their backs, burning holes. Something was still looming over their heads and it was big and following their every move, every breath they took, every minute shiver that racked their frame. But it had a leisurely sluggishness to it, like it had no hurry in its stalking and it _knew_ they knew it was watching.

Screw this. That wasn't a dream, it was a traumatic experience.

Sephiroth got up from bed, since he was in no way, shape or form going back to sleep after that, stealing a glance at the clock mounted on the wall opposite him. Two in the morning.

For a moment he just stayed sat on his bed, feet firmly planted on the floor, granting him a sense of stability, of reality. For a moment he felt so tired. All he wanted was flop back and sleep again. The silk sheets, cool and slippery like water were inviting him to just lay back again and forget everything. Like warm arm embracing him around the shoulders and dragging him down.

No. Getting the fuck up now please and thank you.

He should get some espresso.

He just so happened to not be the only one with that idea, he supposed, as he heard not one but two more doors opening. Doors corresponding to his two friends' rooms.

They all look at each other blankly.

"No sleep, huh?"

"Nightmares?"

"Yeah."

"Same here."

" _My friend, the fates are cruel, There are no dreams no honor remains…"_

"Yeah we know. So coffee?"

"Coffee. "

They did not expect the resident blonde to also be there, zooming around the kitchen.

"You are awake too?" Sephiroth took the initiative.

The little boy looked up from were he was mixing something in a pot over the burner and nodded.

"Little past your bedtime though isn't it?" Genesis prodded teasingly.

"But you want coffee, don't you?" Cloud evaded with a smirk.

Busted.

"And you are that good at Divination?" It was surprisingly Sephiroth that teased back.

"Nah. I'm pulling an all-nighter." He explained uncaringlly

"Why? Can't be healthy." Angeal was ever concerned.

"Neither are nightmares about unknowable terrors." Double Busted. "Would you fancy a seat?" The chocobo invited

"You know something." The General remembered the way the boy acted that morning.

"You are making coffee?" Genesis perked up.

"Man! Priorities!" Angeal slapped the back of his friend's head.

"Well duh! I talk with Sei frequently. And also: Double duh! You know jack shit about making coffee." Oh the boy had a _mouth_.

"Language young man! What would you do if your mother heard you?" Genesis probably though of the retribution that would be brought down upon him with great vengeance by the boy's mother. Sephiroth shuddered. That woman was scary.

"Of course! How could I not account for your impossibly delicate ears? Would you ever be able to forgive me?" Little Smartass!

Chuckles escaped unbidden and soon they were laughing, the mood lightening and the influence of the dreams waning.

"You talk with Sei?" Sephiroth tried to steer the conversation without laughing. He was mildly succeeding.

"Yeah. We play online something. Co-op."

"From a different world?"

"Magic."

"…Touché"

The red haired man stated "You knew this was going to happen." Angeal seemed to be feeling vindicated as he was being proven right. Genesis flinched a bit. He remembered being a douche about it and he didn't know how to address it…

"Eh. Sei usually deals with demons and that makes good stories. And his complaining about stupid people is funny." He shrugged. If 'stupid people' were people like Bitch they could bet.

"So what do you know about the subject."

"I know that they can possess people and they tend to completely wreck the body of the possessed. Possession of course is not instantaneous and by no means easy. There are stages to it but no matter who or what is trying to do it the key to prevailing is mental strength." He explained. "That is why they try to drive you to the bring so you are vulnerable for attack."

"Stages?" Angeal inquired

"Yeah four. Infestation, oppression, manifestation, possession."

"Please teacher, enlighten us lowly fools." Genesis look far less miserable than before.

"Just because I am feeling charitable~." He puffed up in mock self importance and took a lecturing stance. "Infestation is starter, standard haunting. Disembodied voices, footsteps where there is nobody, perhaps apparitions and odors or things going missing and moving by themselves, nothing much. The whole objective is to unnerve and disturb.

Oppression, the activity escalates. Physical attacks the severity of which depends on the entity. Depression, anxiety, relationship, employment or maybe health problems in disturbing frequency. So far, nothing that can't be attributed to circumstance and unfortunate timing.

Manifestation. The effects become more severe. Hallucinations, severe depression, suicidal thoughts and insomnia. The body weakens along with the mind and grasp at the chance to achieve step 4. Many don't make it past though since they are so broken they kill themselves. If they get you to do it too they get the energy expelled from the violence against one's self and they may even get your soul. You will suffer, unable to enter the reincarnation circle. until the demon gets exorcised and destroyed and good luck with that. If you don't kill yourself you need an exorcism, experienced priests and up required.

Possession. The word says it all. The victims health degrades rapidly, physically and mentally. Lapses of consciousness or awareness during which you may observe speaking in tongues and different voices, impossible contortions of the body, complete disregard of pain, usually accompanied by self mutilation, so, yeah. Also, extreme out of character behaviors. If that happens the demon has a vessel to affect the material world and get its will done. Now you need an exorcist with the Vatican appointed ones baring the best results. If there are no results then the church calls the magicals and they get the job done with the church covering it to maintain the Statute of Secrecy. If there are still no results…things get iffy. Currently there are less that ten people worldwide that deal with this kind of iffy. Sei is training to get into those less than ten. So is Bella for that matter but knowing her she's going to get there by accident…"

"I can see that happening. So she's an exorcist then." Genesis concluded.

"No." and he was shot down nonchalantly.

"Wards? Cleansing?" he tied again.

"Wrong."

"…Then a spiritualist of some sort?..." this was strange. Why was she partnered with Sei then?

"Nope."

"What then?!"

"A Raider." What?

"Bullshit!"

"Language young man. What would you do of my mother heard you?" Cloud rebutted him using his own argument.

"…Damn kid."

"Not a kid." The little blonde pointed out on reflex.

"Sure whatever helps you sleep at night." The red haired man couldn't help but tease.

"You sure you wanna say that? I hold the coffee hostage." The kid said, demonstrating an excellent sense of timing as he held back Genesis's coffee just before the man could grab it. The look on his face was priceless.

They exploded in laughter again. How they were going to miss this child… Sephiroth wanted to give the kid a hug. He settled for messing his hair though and he got a kitty scowl for his troubles. He couldn't help but laugh again and Cloud made a show of bypassing both of them to give the cup to Angeal.

Precious.

After everyone had received their coffee and taken a couple sips Cloud spoke again. "You should really tell Bella about your nightmares though." He said as he put a cup on a tray along with a slice of cake that seemed to be chocolate. "You can come with me. I'm going to her right now."

"You taking her coffee?" Angeal pointed out conversationaly.

"No. Hot chocolate. It helps better." Does it now…

So they did. And thank God they did. They would not have found her room easily had they not.

They headed to the library, imposing and impressive as always, the ceiling now was a mimicry of the night sky, the selves breeching past it and getting lost in the darkness.

They went to the back were there were two double doors, intricate and elegant. However, while there were stairs on either side of the hall that laid past them, they kept on and through a door in front of them. That was an elevator with glass walls and metal floor and roof that looked like those Wutaian pagodas. It went up and up all the way to the ceiling and even past that to a little hall that seemed to be standing on dark clouds. There were two more elevators, one on each side of them, probably coming from wherever those side stairs went.

They had their reservations about stepping there. It was so evident that Cloud was laughing at them with the look he shot them. Especially as he stepped up as if nothing was amiss. Their heart of course shot up to their throat when the little boy's foot sank and for a moment it seemed like the clouds underneath would give way and send the boy plummeting. They visibly relaxed when the foot stopped at about the calf.

He had the gall to _chuckle_.

His sister was such a bad influence on him.

The boy lead the way to the only door in the hall. The room beyond it was…particular. The first thing to hit them was the scent. The same pleasant scent of herbs they encountered on the first day.

Circular in shape with a circular bed on one side, the entire layout resembled a crescent moon. The bed had four posters and semi transparent curtains. The blanket was a deep violet and the sheets of black silk. There were two big purple pillows with a smaller red one between them. What they were not expecting were the myriad of stuffed animals.

Oh how precious for the tough and fierce witch to be sleeping with stuffies!

The walls were indeed continuing from the library as they were filled with books. Over them hung a crustal chandelier. Long chains of crystal beads spread from it outwards in irregular waves. Even more glass lanterns hung from the ceiling in no particular pattern, all ornamental and colored' giving the room a warmth. The ceiling itself curved in a dome and partitioned in seven sections by decorative carved wood. The dome was also decorated with beautiful paintings of birds and flowers.

Were exactly did she get this from?

On both opposite sides of the room there was a wooden, lavishly decorated door.

Looking around more they saw what could only be described as an altar. A lacy black cloth was draped over it with a cauldron in the middle, nestled on a wreath of big white and smaller purple and yellow bell like flowers. A ritual dagger was placed diagonally on the front and right of it along with a dark red ceramic cup with a stick of incense lit. On the corers and especially the two left ones there were red, gold and black candles of varying sizes, some lit some not. On the back left was a goblet made of a vivid green gemstone. Scattered around the altar were bright stones of all colors.

Taking a few steps in their feet felt the plush carpet, bringing some relief from the wet-but-not fluffiness of the "clouds". It was a deep red, fitting with the Bordeaux and burgundy of the shelves.

"Honey! I'm home!" the boy Waltzed with purpose to the other side of the room. To a desk quite clearly hastily cleared out. Paper and pens and books were scatter haphazardly around and away from the desk, most specifically away from the red ritualistic runic circle, drawn or etched, on a cloth placed under the desk, completely engulfing the rather big piece of furniture.

Knowing the subject matter it was probably blood.

Their gazes were finally drawn to the witch, hunched over the desk, a very intricate, sculpted, partitioned desk, with a _side_ _column_ with _shelves_ and _cabinets_ , working on one box. There was one box on her right and six on her left. This was either very good or very bad…

The witch paused on her work and lifted her head to look at them. She looked dead tired. And like she was dragged through a bush backwards. With _twigs_ and _leafs_ present. _The fuck?!_ Sephiroth spotted Genesis flinching minutely.

It was a testament to how happy seeing them made her, her face lit up so much and an enormous smile bloomed on her face, like an exquisite flower. She truly looked the best when smiling.

"Just a sec dearie. I'm putting the finishing touches on this one and I'll be with you." She turned back with vigor. Her hand blitzing through symbols with impressive speed and two minutes later she was capping her quill, placing it to its designated spot and putting the box along with the other six. So it was a good thing. One left to go.

She put her legs on her rolly chair, lifted a foot to the edge of the desk and pushed back. That propelled her backwards and she swiveled halfway to them so she was facing them. The chair stopped right in front of Cloud who presented her the tray with a smile that she wholeheartedly reciprocated.

She took a whiff of the chocolate and sighed happily. "Oh my dear Cloud. I love you so much right now."

She turned to them and smiled softly. "Hello there. Trouble sleeping."

The Crimson Commander shrugged. "Kinda." He elaborated as she gestured for him to explain "We spent a couple hours in VR and got so wiped out we crashed for about five hours. Then _somebody_ -" his silver haired friend ignored the glare "-though it a good idea to wake up and move to our rooms. That was two hours ago. Then nightmares happened."

She nodded and snapped her fingers. Armchairs appeared next to them and she motioned for them to sit. Then she raised a hand in the air and a notebook and pen flew right into it. "Perhaps because it's close to three. Demons are the most powerful then. Good thing you're up then. Describe to me the severity of your nightmares please. Details." She clicked her pen and poised it to write.

So they did. She took note of everything and hummed in understanding or grimaced when she required more information. By the end of it she was looking at a five page report. After that she switched pens and started writing over the existing notes. Finally, she turned to a new page and started writing again. Three pages. Then, she tore them off and kept those as she sent the notebook back to its place with a throwing motion.

"So. Verdict?"

"Well, Angeal, nothing that can't be fixed. Your systems are just vulnerable and you got more of the backlash." She sighed. "Care to tell me what you did at the VR?" she raised a brow inquisitively.

"Six Chalice dungeons and something called Dark Souls: Consumed King's Garden."

Her eyes flew to them and she just stared blankly. "You found out how much of a blunder that was, I take it?" she spoke monotonously. "Dark Souls is leagues harder than Bloodborne and not only that you skipped to late game stuff too." She paused and then shrugged "But then again it could have been worse I suppose. You could have gone with Demon Souls. If you thought Dark Souls mobility is bad you should check the dumpster full of house bricks that is Demon Souls."

"Yeah…"

"I take it you neglected to take the Pepper-up too?" she continued monotonously. There was _so_ much judgment there.

"Perhaps…?"

"Merlin's balls! Forget 3am. You were too fucking wiped the fuck out to do anything but sleep." she looked skywards, her neck bending back in a painful position. A hand was carded through her hair and she forcefully expelled a sigh and then it just rested over her eyes. They couldn't tell if she was unhappy with them or put upon. Anyway they suppressed cringes, with varying degrees of success.

When she finally turned to look at them they could tell her emotions were turbulent. Not at them however, she gave them the softest, kindest, most understanding smile. She wasn't angry at them, but at _herself._

Ok, that made them feel like _shit._ In all the time they knew the woman they had brought her nothing but trouble, yet she never turned her scorn at them, rather taking everything upon herself when she had no obligation to even give a fuck.

"Are you ok?" 'I'm sorry.' the red haired man finally got the courage to ask her but not what he wanted.

"Yeah. I'm fine. I have one final box. It should take an hour and then I will prepare a couple of things. There is the potion running through your system still so I can't give you cleansers. However I am going to give you a mixture to be used while bathing. I'm sending the boxes the moment I finish and flushing the wards again and the bath mixes will be in your rooms by tomorrow, or today, evening. I want you to use them once a day for three days. Other than that I will take care of the food." She nodded to herself and turned back to her desk before pausing to look back "Don't worry Gen. I know that assholery is in your character. I won't hold it against you." She winked at him and he flushed, in embarrassment of outrage, not even his friends could tell, mostly because they were too busy laughing. The witch chuckled briefly and put the tray to the side, moving the chair to continue working.

"No you don't!" the little boy grabbed hold of the back of the chair and rooted his feet to the ground, stopping her from moving towards the desk. "You haven't even sipped that."

"I will after I finish." She fired back and tried to drag her chair to the desk. She only managed to get two of the back legs off the ground before they slammed back down.

"It will go cold by then. Can't you take a five minute break?!" he argued and heaved backwards actually managing to bounce the chair back. What kind of training was this witch giving him?

"Not if I wanna finish in an hour." She _whined._ She had even stopped fighting back and was just focusing on not being dragged back.

"Let me make the ink then. That will save you time." He tried to reason and she paused, looking back.

"How did you _know_ I ran out of ink." She was incredulous

"I saw it. Duh." Oh, this was so beautiful.

"Don't you "Duh" me young man." She balanced on her hands on the armrests, lifted herself and plopped back down with her legs crossed.

"Then don't be unreasonable, woman." The boy gave another heave and managed to drag the chair another bit back.

"….You've been talking with Sei haven't you…?" she exhaled in exasperation as she gripped the armrests to steady herself after the harsh jolt.

"And conspiring behind your back. Now eat. Or else I'm telling mum on you." Another harsh tug and _really_ kid? Cheap shot!

"And what's _she_ gonna do to me?" she kicked up an eyebrow in incredulity.

"Don't go pretending like you are not terrified of her." The blonde kicked up an eyebrow in return.

"…You are such a little shit and I am so proud of you." She sighed and shook her head fondly. "You know were the ink stone and the ink sticks are." She consented and stood up, taking the tray and going to sit on the bed. Adorably, she grabbed a white rabbit stuffed animal and put it in her lap, before picking up the plate with the cake and cutting a piece daintily.

"So mama Strife scares even you?" Genesis drawled teasingly.

"Shut up. You're no better." She pointed out.

"It is not…unpleasant." Sephiroth muttered contemplatively.

"Indeed. She is wonderful with everyone." Angeal agreed in content, reminiscing fondly of his own mother. Genesis himself let out a smile too. Mrs. Hewley was the one to take more care of him in his childhood. It panned out clearly, knowing what they knew now. And Mrs. Strife was very much a mother to him too even if she knew him so little. More than his own mother ever bothered to be. Both him and Sephiroth were stumbling in the dark there, dealing with the caring woman or more specifically the un-ulterior-tive-ness of it all.

"Anything else that scares the fierce Bella Potter other than Mrs. Strife?" oh the redhead was not letting that go.

"Where did that come from?" she chuckled startled.

A blank look.

"Stuffies? Really? _"My friend, the fates are cruel."_ He ribbed at her with a smirk. His childhood friend scoffed at the childishness while the General decided to go see what the chocobo headed boy was doing, now towering over him curiously as the boy grinded a black rectangular stick onto a black stone with an indentation. He distinctly remembered seeing one such stone in one of the small Wutaian fortresses they had seized in one of the battles.

She actually _blushed._ "Shut up, you bloody wanker!" oh she was so flustered… "And honestly not all of them are mine! Most are Teddy's and some are Yuri's." she stammered leaning back and clutching the stuffed rabbit closer.

"Oh? And who's Teddy?" the man smirked.

"My godson." She replied defensively.

"Wait, someone entrusted a child to you. You can hardly take care of yourself!" Cloud exclaimed jokingly from the desk where he was making the ink.

"Hey. I resent that!" she laughed.

"Weird though. I haven't heard you talk about a godson - oh wait I remember hearing about Teddy back when you had Sei scour your estate library for info on entropy curses." The blonde snapped his fingers in remembrance.

"And he's absolutely adorable." She swooned, smiling dopily. "Force of habit, really." She sobered up really quickly "I was rather important in the civil war back home, being implicated in a prophesy and all, and after I left the Minister lost an important…stepping stone. You see, I was the one to kill the enemy General and as such was and still am an important figure." Yeah, that would do it… "With absolutely no desire to be dragged back into the train wreck that is Britain, talking about my godson was a big no-no. Even in Japan, while many know me, I don't exactly advertise it. After all, having some idiot use my currently four-year-old godson to get to me would be…displeasing. He's way to young to be dragged into my problems." Her eyes narrowed in clear hostility, gaining a frosty gleam as the temperature dropped just a little, very much noticeable bit. "I still called almost every day and found ways to go see him at least by-weakly. Andromeda, his grandmother would always scold me for being reckless. Then she would sit me down and force her special calming tea on me and proceed to fuss the ever-loving shite out of me, making sure I was okay. She gave me soooo much shit about my sleep schedule." She chuckled warmly, eyes gazing into her reflection in her cup. "And then Teddy would just look at me with bottomless black eyes and I would always promise to take care of myself and he would smile so bright at me it would light up the entire sitting room." She was smiling softly and brought her legs up a bit more, knees closer to her chest.

The 'I miss them so much.' was strongly implied. However Genesis's question was answered with crystal clarity. Her presence endangering her family, loved ones even. The place's entire security and the religious maintenance of it made so much sense now, as well as her attitude towards it too.

There was silence for a bit. "Sei has been having problems contacting them for some time now and my calls would not connect anyway because they don't have the phones for it. The ginger bastard knows something but he doesn't talk and I can do shit about it. It is very disconcerting. Though I trust Andy and Sei to take care of everything I would still very much _like_ to be told _something._ " She sighed with a twitching eyebrow. And everybody knew what was going on with Sei…

The Silver General spoke up "Sei is your partner, you should trust him. The fact that these-" he pointed at the boxes "are here and not _there_ means that he is probably fine, if, as you said, indisposed. You said yourself at average it takes three weeks but it's only been one. He's probably too exhausted to deal with his backup ." He pointed out.

The witch chuckled and bowed her head a bit. "…You're right. Sei's the fucking _shit_. _I_ should know." She chuckled again and carded a hand through her hair, forgetting that it was in a bun _and_ the goggles and consequently getting stuck on both the bun and the goggles.

"I'm too tired _and_ emotional for this shit."

"Maybe get a rest?" the blonde drawled as he poured the ink in a little cauldron and adding another, dark red coloured liquid to it.

"Rejected." she shot down blankly.

"Those things are noisy though. Can't you silence them?" Cloud contemplated while mixing. Wait, what was he-

"Nah. Too many layers. Then things tend to explode and I'd rather not" she dismissed and ate another spoonful of cake.

"Still, can't you make thralls out of them? That would shut them up." The boy asked vindictively. _Say_ _what_?

"That is an idea. However I am sending them back to Annora and I don't know what she will want to do with them. I will include it as a suggestion though. Perhaps she'll send me one as a gift for long suffering indulgence." She drawled just as vindictively.

 _Were they talking about the_ demons _?_

"Well that shut them up quick." She kicked up an eyebrow.

Angeal turned to Cloud concerned. "You can hear them?"

Genesis pinned a stare at the kid calmly filling the quill's ink container, _right_ _next_ _to_ _the_ _fucking demon containing boxes._ Sephiroth himself had put a hand on the boy's shoulder, thus feeling the shrug the blonde gave.

"Somewhat. And I also see some vague figures too. Kids are more sensitive to this kind of stuff, plus I am spending much of my time with her. Her magic spreads over."

"So, you can too? From the start?" the dark haired Commander turned to the witch that had just downed the last of her cup.

Bella was way to nonchalant about it for everyone else's sanity "Yeah, horrible looking little fucks. And they like spewing some horrible sounding shit too. Comparable to raw sewage really, it is so filthy." She shrugged "Meh. You get used to it eventually."

There was a soft click. "Ready." The boy called and placed the quill down.

"Same here." She called back, wiped her mouth and got off the bed. They pumped fists as they passed each other, Cloud perching on the bed and her plopping on her chair. She picked up the quill and twirled it in her hand absently. "You gonna stay up?"

"That was the plan." The kid answered as he crawled across the bed, reaching the bedside table and rifling through to find a book and perched himself on her pillows. That was their queue to make themselves comfortable for the next hour.

"Good. We've got a movie marathon after this."

A pang of dread went through the Shinra three's spines.

linelinelinelineline

"Freedom!"

The victorious cry startled them and they turned towards the witch, now stretching her back contently like a cat. All eight boxes were sitting unassuming on one side, neatly stacked, nothing left of their oppressive aura.

"How are you going to send those?" Sephiroth raised an eyebrow curiously.

She let out a pleased purr-like sound and finished stretching. She hopped off the chair and went to the door to the right. She opened it and rummaged for a bit before retrieving the scrying pool and placing it on the desk. She then opened a little cabinet in the desk, took out a bottle of translucent liquid, pulled the cork with her teeth and poured it all in the bowl. "Easy."

She then took a piece of paper and wrote a note before holding it over the bowl while placing the tips of her fingers in the liquid, causing ripples with a slight holographic sheen, like oil, to taint its surface.

A ripple went through the air itself. A slight wind billowed from her and the world…for a split second it felt like something had fundamentally…changed.

" _Connection: Established. Pathway: identified. Route: detected."_

The water stilled.

" _Stationary Link: Reciprocating Channel Acquisition."_

The note fell and fluttered to the surface of the liquid. Another ripples tarnished the pristine mirror surface and the note soaked, disappearing as it sank into the bottom.

And they waited. Two minutes later, just as the resident poetry machine opened his mouth to say something snarky, no doubt, the energy rose again a point of rotation came into being just in front of her. Slowly, from center and moving outwards, following the flow of the rotation many little polygons of iridescent light materialized, spinning into a cohesive mass.

The witch hummed and picked up the stack, hovering it over the portal and suddenly dropping it unceremoniously. The boxes were swallowed by the little polygons who proceeded to start spinning again, picking up speed, before the entire thing collapsed inwards.

The witch dusted her hands with another hum and placed them on her waist. "Done." She spun on her hill to face them with a Cheshire grin.

"Cloud, you know where the theatre is. I'm flushing the wards again and following. Anyone who wants to join us for the movie marathon follow the ray of sunshine."

At this point Sephiroth might have liked to go to bed but he made a mistake. And that was chancing a look at said ray of sunshine.

The boy looked like a veritable angel.

If this kid did indeed join SOLDIER they were all doomed. He sincerely hoped that in the five years it took him to become of age to enlist he would lose the ability to coerce people into doing whatever he wanted just by looking at them.

Who was he kidding. With Bella there, there was no hope.

When had he become this weak?

 **Omake:** Movie Marathon

In retrospect, Sephiroth mussed, perhaps she did do it on purpose. Or it could, maybe, not have been a swell idea to begin with. She did say that she was going to "rectify some crime" but this was…just…

One thing was for sure, and that was that Genesis should really stop talking.

"I did say that there would be horror, but I am not exactly sure how much this is considered within good taste."

"What is it? Possession?"

"Yup."

"We're not pansies. Don't underestimate us."

"Don't say I didn't warn you."

First _fucking_ movie.

The Exorcists.

No! No! No! No! No! No! No! He liked his dick as it was, thank you very much!

Next up. Evil Dead.

And this one had _choices_. The old or the new. They chose old because they hoped for shitty, unrealistic graphics.

Nope! It looked so much painful!

"Is this actually factual?"

"If you mean if it was made by wizards then no. However, muse. In that case, yes." She said between bites of popcorn.

"Oh Gaia!"

"Don't worry, those are the extreme cases. And they make sure to prepare us before they let us out on the field." She pinned them with an inquisitive look. "There are anti-possession tattoos, if you want."

"Yes, please!"

Third on the line, they decided to go for something a bit different. So…

Silence Of The Lambs.

Goddammit woman. Just. Goddammit.

"Does _this_ have any basis?" It was Angeal who seemed to have actually enjoyed this one.

"Well it's based on a novel who is in turn based on actual serial killers from my world."

"Excuse me?" The Crimson Commander blanched.

"Yeah. There were actually sick fucks who did that shit. As far as the subject matter goes there are a lot of them out there. Now on the matter of psychology, that is also true, if you are exceptionally good, that is." She shrugged. "I mean, wizards have legillimensy but normal people can pull it off, if they have good instincts and are charismatic enough. There's also something called cold reading, which I can't go into detail right now and not take days, but it is the…art let's say of syncing with someone else and managing to influence them subtly but effectively. I have a book on it from back when I went to school. I can give it to you."

"Did the magic school teach that to you to go along with legillimensy?" the dark haired man asked. The response he got was a derisive laugh.

"Fuck no. If only they were that forthcoming. Or smart. No, I attended a university and got a Psychology degree, back when I was in Greece. I was bored you see and I picked up Greek and Ancient Greek quick enough. Abused the fuck out of time turners and _'Confundus'_ though. Aaah, good times." She sighed wistfully. Cloud looked at her incredulously.

At first they had their reservations about him watching. However he went through the entire thing unflinching. Fuck, even they had had their moments but noooo. Not. A. Peep.

Their pride had died a just little.

"So you're a psychiatrist too…" Sephiroth couldn't help but state.

"Yep. I was thinking of taking up criminal psychology too when I have the time."

The Therapist Union Impromptu looked between themselves. Did this woman not know _how_ to rest.

Taking a looked at the clock on the wall she sighed. "It's almost ten. Only three movies, not much of a marathon…" she lamented.

"We can pick it up tomorrow." Genesis suggested. "I quite enjoyed it. "Maybe less possession though."

"I warned you~" she finished her popcorn and stood up. "Come on. It's time for breakfast."

"Hasn't Mom cooked yet?"

"Indeed. However, the three Mr's over there need a different diet in lieu of a cleansing potion."

"You better leave the coffee untouched!"

She laughed teasingly "I'll think of it, if you ask politily~."

 **So that's a wrap folks. Please leave me a review, I enjoy reading them. As you see though I have a thing for monstrous chapters…do tell me if you want them smaller in case it's tiring for you.**

 **By the way, how bad in taste would Alien be in this context? XD**

 **I apologize for the delay but I refuse to upload something I am not happy with and this chapter needed a lot of work. I'm trying to sett things up and I have nil experience with it…**

 **I hope you liked this chapter and thank you very much for your time. Have a most wonderful day!**

 **Love**

 **Sill~**


End file.
